Whatever She's Got
by Upsgirl88
Summary: Carol gets bit. Daryl admits his feelings at her death bed. But I would NEVER kill Daryl or Carol... So you might want to read on to find out what's gonna happen. (I'll update the summary after the first couple of chapters). Eugene will feature in this story, but he's not an option to select unfortunately.
1. Chapter 1

"_You okay?" he asked, knowing the answer the second he met her eye. "No… no… please…" Carol's eyes were filling with tears as she exposed her shoulder to show him the bite. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't somewhere he could even attempt to amputate. "No…" Daryl said, sinking to his knees at her feet, wrapping his arms around her legs. He could feel Carol's hands in his hair, stroking his head, offering comfort. She was the one who was going to die and here she was offering him comfort. It was absurd, yet he couldn't pull himself together enough to stand. "No," he said again, hugging her tighter and crying against her legs. _

_It took the threat of another walker to snap him out of his sorrow. Carol pulled away and took the creature down with her knife. "No sense in you risking it, when I'm already…" her voice trailed off and they looked at each other for a long time, neither speaking, neither moving. _

_It was only a simple run to get a few supplies. They were short on food. Daryl saw a place he thought might have some canned goods. After she got better Carol had been going on runs with him almost every day since they'd ventured to Atlanta to find Beth. She was tough. She could take care of herself. She'd even saved his ass more than a couple times. They made a good team. _

_But even the best team ran out of luck eventually. There were only 8 or 9 walkers that attacked. But 9 against 2 was never good odds. Daryl thought they got away with it. He thought he'd hit the walker that came at her from behind in time. Just a few seconds earlier… a few seconds and she would have been fine. Why didn't I look up? Why didn't I save her? He screamed in his head. _

Several hours later, sitting at her bedside he was still screaming at himself, reliving the memory, blaming himself that she was dying at it was his fault. "Stop doing that, right now," Carol demanded. "I know what's going on in your head. It's not your fault. It just happened."

"Yeah but, I shouldn't have taken you.. I shouldn't have…" he started.

"Stop," she said forcefully. "I don't want my last few minutes… maybe hours… with you to be like this." Carol smiled at him. How the fuck is she smiling right now? "Tell me something good Daryl," she sighed.

The others had all been in and said their goodbyes. Daryl wanted to be with her when she turned. He wanted to be the one who put her down. He wanted to be the one to carry her body to the grave that would be waiting. They were holed up in a town that Abe's group had found when they left for D.C. They cleared the Fire Station where they'd got the truck from and a little shop right next door. There was plenty of room for them all between the two buildings and the town, at least at first, had plenty of supplies.

Tell her something good? What could he possibly tell her that was good? He could only think of one thing that he could tell her. But would it make things better or worse? He'd wondered that the entire time the others were paying their respects. Do you tell a woman who is dying that you're in love with her? Do you let her go knowing that she's leaving with a piece of your heart? Or do you just let her go peacefully, without any thought of what could have been? He had no idea what to do until he looked into her eyes. "I love you," Daryl blurted out.

"I love you too, you know that," Carol replied gently.

They had always loved each other like family, but for Daryl it was more. He wasn't completely sure when it changed, but it definitely did change. "That ain't want I mean…" Daryl started, looking away. "I mean, I'm in love with you. And it fucking took me until you're lying here dying to say something."

"Oh," Carol said softly. "Oh…" she repeated. When Daryl risked a look in her direction her eyes were sparkling. "You do? How long? Why didn't you say something? Are you sure? I… I love you too," Carol finished the barrage of questions with the one thing he really wanted to hear. "Well aren't we tragic?" she joked. He glared at her weakly. "You gonna kiss me or not?" she asked boldly. It was so… Carol. "Grant one last wish to a dying woman…"

Even in a time of such sadness she made him smile. "Shut up," Daryl grumbled, making sure she couldn't talk by covering her lips with his own. For a brief moment he forgot all about the fact that she would soon be gone. He let go of the pain, the sadness, the utter grief and just kissed the woman he loved. Daryl hadn't kissed a woman in years and he wasn't sure he'd ever want to kiss another woman again after this. It was everything a first kiss should be… intense, passionate, a little bit awkward, but there was a familiarity that was building the entire time. He tasted her, explored her mouth with his tongue, probed deeper and deeper until suddenly… Carol pulled back. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice teeming with concern.

She looked at him apologetically, a deep sadness rooting itself in her blue eyes once again, "Do we know for sure that you can't you know… catch it from saliva? I can't risk your life…"

Daryl nodded, she had a point, they really didn't know for sure. As much as he really didn't care at that point he knew it mattered to her and refused to do anything to upset her. "You should sleep," Daryl suggested. Night had fallen and she looked tired.

"I don't want to sleep," Carol whined, but finished with a yawn. "You will be here, when I wake up? If I wake up?"

"_When _you wake up I'll be right here," Daryl whispered. "You ain't leaving me without saying goodbye."

Carol fell asleep immediately and Daryl sat silently watching her. He was exhausted as well, but he refused to leave her side. He didn't know how much time passed, likely a few hours, but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully when Daryl heard a light knock on the door. He stood and unlocked it. "You really should leave it open… in case…" Rick suggested.

"I know what I'm doing. Don't need your advice," Daryl snapped. He instantly felt bad. "Sorry, I'm just… not in the best mood."

"I know," Rick replied. "None of us are." He looked over at Carol, "Any change?"

"Nope, nothing yet. Not even a fever," Daryl replied, touching her forehead lightly to confirm.

"You should get some sleep," Rick suggested.

"I ain't fucking leaving…" Daryl began, before Rick laid a calming hand on his shoulder.

"I'd never even suggest it," he interrupted. "I'll stay for a few hours and you sleep. If anything changes I'll wake you immediately." Daryl looked around the room, wondering where to lay down. He spotted an empty space on the floor and stood. "Hey, it's a double bed," Rick said. "I really don't think she'd mind…"

Daryl hesitated. But something compelled him to go with Rick's suggestion. No one but Carol knew how he truly felt, but they all knew how close he and Carol were. That was no secret. He climbed into bed and lay down beside her. He felt Carol stir, but she didn't wake. It was strange to be in bed with her, though they had slept side by side on the ground countless times. Daryl relaxed and let himself sleep.

When he woke sometime later Carol was looking at him and Rick was still sitting in the chair. "How are you?" he whispered, rolling to face her.

"Okay I guess," she replied. "My arm hurts where the bite is, but that's about it."

"Jenner said everyone's different," Rick spoke, mentioning the scientist from the CDC they'd met so long ago. "Maybe since the bite wasn't too bad, it's just taking longer."

Carol rolled onto her back. "Maybe that's it," she agreed.

Daryl had a strange feeling in his stomach. Something weird was going on, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"You sure you got bit?" Rick teased her.

"Well I didn't bite myself," Carol laughed.

Rick shifted his eyes to Daryl. "Fuck off," Daryl muttered and the three of them laughed. Daryl honestly never would have imagined laughing at a time like this, but that was just how it was with Carol. She knew how to make people feel comfortable and relaxed, even in the worst of times.

Rick yawned and Daryl got out of bed. "I'm awake now, go sleep." When Rick opened the door Daryl saw it was daylight. "What time is it? How long did I sleep?" He asked, bewildered.

Rick looked at his watch, "Almost noon. You slept a while." With that, he was gone. Noon, Daryl thought. It's been almost 24 hours since she was bit and Carol still hadn't even broke out in fever. "Let me look," Daryl said, pointing at her shoulder. He had to see it again. Carol exposed the wound, wincing as she did. There was definitely a bite there. It wasn't deep, but it had broke through her skin. "Maybe we should clean it up," Daryl suggested.

"What's the point?" Carol asked, stating the obvious.

"Might make it hurt less," he said with a shrug. Daryl went to the door and peeked out. Tara was the closest. "Hey, can you get me some alcohol and gauze?"

"Uh, sure..." She muttered, looking at him strangely, but doing what he asked, returning with the items. "How's she... Uh... Ya know..."

"Fine," Daryl said, closing the door rather rudely. But he was in no mood to make small talk.

"Be careful," Carol warned him. "Make sure you don't touch any of my blood..." He took her warning and cleaned her up gently. She bit her lip when he put the alcohol on, obviously in pain. When it was clean Daryl wrapped her shoulder up awkwardly reaching inside her shirt to wrap it around. He was blushing and trying really hard not to stare at her boobs. "You can look Daryl," she said. He knew without looking she was grinning at him. "Probably your last chance."

"Stop saying shit like that," he growled. He knew she was trying to make light of the situation for his benefit, but the fact was, she was dying and he was devastated. He couldn't take any more jokes.

"I'm sorry," Carol said sincerely. He finished wrapping her up and Carol laid back down. "I'm kinda thirsty, hungry too," she said, rubbing her tummy.

Daryl was pretty sure he'd never seen someone eat or drink waiting to turn. But again he went to the door and asked Maggie to get some water and food. He let her assume it was for him and didn't correct her.

The hours passed. Carol got up twice to relieve herself. She walked perfectly normal and didn't seem fatigued. When night fell for the second time Rick returned. "It's been over 30 hours," he whispered to Daryl. "I've never seen anyone last half this long."

"I can hear you," Carol interrupted them. "I'm sure it will start soon."

"Why? You feeling different?" Daryl asked quickly, a sense of dread filling him.

"No… But it has to happen eventually, right?" she said, sitting up.

Suddenly the door flew open and Eugene burst into the room, followed closely by Abraham, who seemed to be trying to stop him. "Eugene, come on… stand down. Leave them be…"

Daryl and Rick watched in stunned silence as he yanked his arm out of Abe's grip and walked right up to Carol's bedside. "Carol Peletier, please tell me you know your blood type and it's O neg," Eugene spoke in that rapid, weird tone they'd become accustomed to.

"How did you know that?" Carol said, looking shocked. "Sophia and I were both O negative."

"Oh thank God," Eugene sighed.

"But how did you know?" Carol asked again.

"It wasn't that I knew ma'am, it was more that I hoped," Eugene stated.

"What the fuck is going on?" Daryl asked, moving towards him. He was ready to punch the fraud in the face if he didn't get the hell out of the room soon. "What are you doing? Get out. Leave us alone."

"I'll go, but you might wanna hear what I have to say first," Eugene replied, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Let him talk," Carol said and Daryl backed down.

"Since this thing started I have never seen or heard of anyone lasting this long. A few hours, maybe. Over night, maybe. But it's been 34 hours and 26 minutes since she was bit and she doesn't even have a fever," Eugene paused and looked around the room. "I believe Carol is immune. And there's a good chance if I'm right…" he looked straight at Carol. "We might be staring right at the cure."


	2. Chapter 2

They were all staring at Eugene and for a long time no one spoke. Daryl's heart was pumping hard in his chest. "Are you... Are you saying she ain't gonna turn?" Daryl said quietly.

"The longer she goes without the usual signs, the more confident I am that Carol is somehow immune to the bite," Eugene replied, looking at Daryl. "And if that happens there's a chance her blood could cure this thing."

"I don't give a fuck about no cure right now," Daryl rumbled, shifting his eyes to Abraham and then back to Eugene. "She's all that matters." The flicker of hope building inside him was terrifying. "What do we do?"

"Way I see it, 'bout the only thing we can do is wait," Eugene stated simply.

Daryl looked at Rick and saw the same conflicting feelings he was having on the man's face. Could it really be possible? Could Carol somehow survive a bite? He was afraid to look at her. He didn't know if he would see hope or skepticism and he didn't know which would be worse.

"I wanna find that library tomorrow," Eugene said to Abe. "Do some research. And maybe you can get a group together to go to the high school and get me some supplies from the science labs."

"Supplies? From the lab?" Carol said. "What for? I'm not gonna be your damn guinea pig."

Eugene looked to Abe for help. "Let's go. Give the woman some privacy," Abraham spoke directly to Eugene. "We'll talk later," he said to Rick. Daryl risked a glance at Carol and saw her eyes flash.

She didn't speak until Abe and Eugene were gone. "What the hell is going on?" she asked. "How can anyone be immune? How can I be immune?"

Rick and Daryl both looked at her and shrugged. Carol was pissed off and Daryl wasn't really sure what it was all about. He gave Rick a 'get the fuck out' look and he quickly excused himself. "Talk to me," Daryl said as soon as they were alone.

"He's giving you... Me... Us... He's giving us false hope," she sighed, relaxing a bit since it was just him left. "I'm dying Daryl. We have to accept that. It's just taking a little longer. That's all. I'm not special. I'm not immune. No one is."

"But what if..." Daryl started.

"Don't," she snapped. "There are no 'what ifs' in this world. There are no miracles. No happy endings." Carol's face was red with anger, "Did we find Sophia? Did we save Hershel from that monster? What about Beth?" Her words stung him. The three people who'd been the hardest for him to lose. "I told you before, we don't get to save people anymore Daryl. You need to accept that."

He glared at her, bored his eyes right into hers so she could see just how deep her slashes had cut him, then spoke slowly, "We saved you. I saved you - On the farm, at the prison, at the hospital... And you saved us all - at Terminus. So don't fuckin' tell me that we don't get to save people anymore." Her eyes softened as his words sunk in. "And like it or not, you are special. Even if you ain't immune." The last statement changed her face completely. The anger was gone.

This was the way it was between them. They could let it all out. Say what's really on their minds. Maybe even say things that hurt. But in the end it all came back to how much they understood and respected one another. "Hey, I'm sorry," Carol said, reaching out her hand in an apologetic and comforting gesture. Daryl took her hand and sat down in the chair beside her bed. "So now what?" she sighed.

"We wait," Daryl replied.

"But I'm bored," Carol said, giving him a smile and sitting up. "This waiting to die thing is like... watching paint dry. Or watching golf."

Daryl shook his head with a smile. She really was too much. Daryl left for a minute and returned with a deck of cards. They played Crazy 8s until Carol started to yawn. "Sleep," he suggested and she nodded in agreement.

Every hour that passed Daryl started to feel more confident in Eugene's theory. Hs knew Carol didn't want him to get his hopes up but Daryl couldn't help it.

Several hours later, like close to morning Carol stirred. "Daryl? Daryl?" Her voice sounded weak and sleepy, causing him to jump to his feet in a panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked, terrified of her answer.

"I'm c-c-cold..." Carol replied, teeth chattering. Daryl reached for her forehead and his heart sank. She was burning up.

"No..." he muttered. "It ain't happening." The wound, he thought. Daryl rolled her onto her back and yanked open her shirt. He quickly undid the bandage. The wound was red and thick with puss. Relief washed over him. "Your bite is infected," Daryl said gently. "That's all." He pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed chest and to keep her warm. "I'll get something to clean it and we'll get some antibiotics down you. You're gonna be just fine," Daryl said, calmly.

"Oh... Okay... I'm just so cold," Carol replied, sounding a bit delirious, but perhaps just tired.

"I'll be right back," Daryl said, moving quickly for the door. It was morning, still early, but he knew Rick would be up. He found him outside. "Hey, I need you to find Maggie and get the last of the antibiotics she has," Daryl said.

"What's going on?" Rick asked, with a look of fear and sadness.

"The wound, it's infected... She's burning up," he explained.

"Daryl..." Rick started.

"No... No, I'm telling you, it's just an infection," Daryl insisted. Rick didn't look convinced. "We gotta at least try..." Daryl pleaded. "We gotta... It's Carol..." Those words were enough and Rick nodded. "I'm gonna clean it again and put some ointment on it. Meet me in the room as soon as you get the drugs."

Daryl took off, found the supplies he needed and rushed back to Carol's side. She had drifted off to sleep again, but woke when he started to clean the bite. "Ow," she moaned. "Hurts."

"It's okay, shh, just cleaning it up," Daryl soothed her, trying to be gentle but thorough. He finished cleaning, added ointment and wrapped it up again, then pulled the blankets up to her chin as Carol's eyes closed once again.

What the fuck is taking Rick so long, he wondered, when he heard voices outside. He looked at Carol and then headed for the door to see what the hell was going on.

"Rick, Rick... We need to discuss this as a group," he heard Maggie say. "She's been bit, she's likely turning, these are the last of the antibiotics we have... We can't go wasting them like this..." Maggie saw Daryl listening and her voice trailed off. "I didn't mean it like that," she attempted.

But it was too late. Daryl was already pissed. "Why don't you say what this is really about, huh Maggie?" He hissed. Ever since they lost Beth in Atlanta Maggie had been different. He chalked it up to grief at first, but it was much more than that. He knew that now. In the weeks since the tragedy Maggie had barely said two words to Carol, mostly avoiding her. "You're mad because Carol survived and Beth didn't," Daryl spat out.

"Daryl," Rick warned, stepping between them to try and keep the peace.

"No, no," Daryl seethed, his voice getting louder. By that point most of the group had gathered round. "She needs to hear this." He glared past Rick at Maggie. "You ain't the only one who was devastated. I lost her. It was my fault she ended up there in the first place. Noah, she helped him escape, twice... Carol risked her damn life with me to go save Beth... We all lost something. She was family." Glenn arrived at that moment but Daryl kept going, "It ain't Carol's fault she's dead. It ain't yours. It ain't mine. It ain't Noah's or Rick's or anyone else. It happened. It was tragic. I don't know why she did it. But she did. And she's gone."

"That's enough Daryl," Glenn said, coming towards him like a guard dog. Tensions were high. Things had been boiling for a while. It was bound to happen.

"No. I'm not finished," Daryl yelled, watching the tears fall down Maggie's cheeks but not feeling a damn bit sorry for her. Abe stepped in to stop Glenn's advance. "You feel guilty for taking off to Washington, not even bothering to look for her. And you're taking it out on people who don't deserve it." The truth of his words hit the entire group and several looked towards Maggie, sadly agreeing. "Beth is dead. Carol ain't. We have a chance to save her. Now get me those damn drugs," he roared.

Glenn was struggling against Abe's hold. Maggie was crying. Daryl was absolutely livid. You could hear a pin drop when a quiet voice from behind them spoke, "What's going on out here?" He turned to see Carol standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Maggie whispered, staring at Carol. "I'm so sorry." Abe released Glenn and he ran to her side. "I'll get them now," she said, turning to go.

Carol looked exhausted and confused. "It's nothing," Daryl said, striding quickly to her. "You shouldn't be up." Mercifully, for once in her stubborn life, she didn't argue and let Daryl help her back to bed.

Rick entered minutes later with the drugs and Daryl helped Carol take the first dose. "I'm still so cold," she said, shivering under the two blankets.

Rick and Daryl shared a look. Much like he and Carol did, they knew each other very well. "I'll stay, just in case," Rick spoke softly.

Daryl got into bed and slid close to Carol, tucking her against him for warmth. She was already on fire but shaking. He held her tight and closed his eyes, praying the drugs would work. And like they'd been doing for hours on end... They simply waited.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl was just about to fall asleep when a light rap on the door woke him up. He watched as Rick went to answer it and Maggie stepped inside. Daryl felt his blood boil instantly at the sight of her face, but he kept himself in check to see what she wanted. He watched as she glanced over at Carol and then spoke softly to Rick when she noticed Carol was sleeping. "The antibiotics might take a couple days to work but this will help the fever. Give her one every 4 hours until the fever breaks."

"Thanks," Rick replied, taking the bottle from her. Maggie looked quickly at Daryl and then headed out. "She could have sent Glenn," Rick said softly, giving him a look. He wanted to make sure Daryl knew it was a peace offering.

"Hmph," Daryl grunted. He was trying to appreciate the effort, but he wasn't quite ready to accept the olive branch. "I'll wake her to take one," he added, as Rick opened the bottle and tipped out a pill. "Carol," he said, touching her shoulder. "Maggie brought some pills for the fever."

Carol groaned and opened her eyes. Daryl helped her sit up to take the pill with some water and laid her back down gently. He got comfortable again and fell asleep until Rick woke him 4 hours later to help Carol take another pill. It took a while for Daryl to get back to sleep and he was about to just get up and let Rick leave when Carol started to stir, groaning. Daryl instantly reached for her forehead and his hand came back damp. Daryl smiled with relief and looked up at Rick. "Fever's broke."

"Oh thank God," Rick sighed, smiling back at him. Daryl really did know how important Carol was to Rick, though at times it slipped his mind. Rick would never completely get over the guilt of banishing her, especially after Carol saved them all at Terminus and helped reunite Rick and Carl with Judith. The one thing Daryl did know was that Rick saw himself in Carol's debt. That meant that if there were any issues with the group like Maggie the day before… Rick would have his back. He wanted to save Carol as much as Daryl did. Maybe not quite as much, Daryl thought, brushing damp curls off her forehead tenderly.

"Go," Daryl said, slipping out of bed. "I ain't gonna fall back asleep now anyway." Truth was, he hadn't been getting much more than 4-5 hours sleep for months anyway. By that point he felt rested on little sleep, though every once in a while he'd pass out for much longer.

Rick was only gone a few minutes when Carol started to stir again and opened her eyes. "Hey," she said, covering a yawn. "I think I feel better…" she muttered, wiggling around, likely noticing her clothes were damp from the fever breaking.

"Fever's gone," Daryl said, unable to keep from smiling at her.

"Oh… that's good. But don't…" she warned him. "It will likely come back soon."

Would it kill her to have a little faith that she might survive this? Daryl wondered how many days of waiting it would take before she accepted the fact that she wasn't going to turn. "Maybe. Maybe not," he said, giving her a look that told her not to argue because she wasn't going to win this time. It wasn't often he could out-stubborn her, but he was determined.

Carol sighed. "I want to get out of here," she said, with what Daryl could only describe as a pout. It had been hard enough to keep her down after they escaped the hospital, but thankfully her injuries were bad enough that she was forced to rest. "Take me on a run," Carol said suddenly, sitting up.

"What? Are you crazy?" Daryl hissed. "No. Ain't happening."

Carol looked defeated, but she knew that was the answer she was going to get so she gave up on the idea. "Okay, fine. But can I at least get out of this room for a few minutes? How about a pre-death shower?"

Daryl tensed. It still drove him insane the way she talked about herself dying so lightly. They had been growing accustomed to showering every few days again, like they had at the prison, since the fire hall had working showers. "I guess you could do that… but I'm coming with you."

Carol smirked at him, "You're gonna shower with me?"

Daryl blushed. "Nah," he snorted. "But I'm staying in the room… in case you need me."

"To scrub my back?" Carol said sweetly, continuing to flirt and tease him.

"Stop," he muttered with a half smile. Daryl wished he had a little more game. He wished he could find the right words to flirt back with her. But the only thing that ever happened when she teased him was his face burning, a little grin, and him telling her to stop, but not really meaning it at all.

"Let's go," Carol said, already climbing out of bed. Her backpack had been brought into the room the day before and she rooted through it for clean clothes. They all had found a few things in nearby houses so they could actually change their clothes once in a while.

Daryl sighed, but he understood her excitement. He was going stir crazy as well, but he was far too focussed on her health to worry about it. Should he warn the others he was taking her out? It's not like she was going to spread it by leaving the room. Besides, it was still dark outside, none of them should be up anyway.

As they passed through the main room Daryl saw Eugene, reading a book with a flashlight. He looked up and Daryl explained quietly, "She wants to shower."

"Fever?" Eugene asked.

"Gone," Daryl replied. Eugene smiled and went back to his book. What a strange little fuck, Daryl thought.

He followed Carol into the shower room and locked the door behind them. He didn't miss the flirty grin she shot him, but he pretended that he did. "You sure you don't want to…" Carol said, nodding towards the shower stall and laughing at the look on his face.

"Would you shut up and get in there," he replied, taking a deep breath. Carol laughed again. She set her clean clothes on the counter, panties, bra and socks on top, then entered the stall, closing the curtain behind her. Carol undressed and started tossing stuff over the top, making a pile on the floor. Daryl tried to ignore the items in his hand as he gathered them all and wrapped them into a bundle as she turned on the shower. He placed the bundle on the counter and figured he would brush his teeth and wash up while he waited. A full shower could wait until they were sure Carol was okay.

He could see the steam rising from the shower in the reflection of the mirror and he tried to forget that she was naked behind the curtain. How the fuck do you forget something like that? He wondered, feeling a stirring in his pants. His eyes wandered to her clean clothes and before he realized what he was doing Daryl had her panties in his hand. They were black and silky, kinda skimpy but plain, yet likely expensive. He wondered what they looked like on her and like he'd done so many times before he pictured her mostly naked. Usually when he let his mind wander to her nude form he was alone, in bed, with his dick in his hand. Daryl had masturbated, thinking about her, far more often than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

"Fuck," he muttered quietly, realizing he was about to have an embarrassing erection if he didn't cool it. Daryl put the panties back and looked around the room, trying to find some type of distraction. There was nothing, so he paced and relived the moment Carol had been bit once again. If anything could make a stiffie go away it was thoughts of losing her.

The shower turned off and Daryl wasn't sure whether he should be relieved it was over, or worried about what was to come. Carol peeked her head out. "Towel please?" she asked. Daryl grabbed one out of the storage closet and held it out to her, while turning his head in the other direction. He heard her chuckle as she took the towel from him. A minute or so later she poked her head out again. "Clothes now please. Can you give me one thing at a time, there's not really anywhere to set stuff down without it getting wet. I'll put my socks on when I come out," she added.

Daryl took a deep breath and grabbed the pile of clothes. He picked up the panties once again and quickly reached over the top of the curtain and dangled them. "God, I wish I could have afforded underwear like this before," Carol sighed, taking them from his hand. "They are so comfortable. Cute too."

Daryl dangled the bra over next, leading his mind back to the bite incident to survive the torture. She took it and a couple seconds later she indicated she was ready for the next item. Daryl handed over her pants, followed shortly by her shirt and a feeling of relief, knowing she would exit fully dressed once again.

Carol emerged and Daryl's eyes went instantly to her bare feet. He didn't realize he had a thing for feet until that moment. For some reason her adorable toes were turning him on. Get it together, he told himself. "Feel better?" he asked, hoping conversation would help.

"Much," she replied. Daryl watched and waited while she brushed her teeth, put on her socks and boots and ran her fingers through her wet hair. It was getting longer and with the length and dampness came curls. He wondered if she'd ever had long hair but decided he really liked the length it was then.

Eugene was still reading and everyone else likely still asleep when they made their way back to the room. They spent that full day and one more night tucked away. Most of the group came by one at a time to visit. Daryl found it odd since most had stayed away since saying goodbye right after it happened. But Carol seemed to be enjoying the company and it gave him a chance to go outside for some fresh air, though he never stayed away long.

Carol was laughing at something Abraham said when Daryl returned from a quick break that evening and he decided if Abe came to visit again he would be sure to just stick around. Glenn offered to stay that night and Daryl slept for a few hours on the floor. For some reason it felt too weird to get in bed with Carol with anyone but Rick sitting there. He relieved Glenn sometime in the middle of the night and sat watching Carol sleep for a long, long time. It was the only time she looked truly at peace.

A knock was followed by Rick entering the room when morning came. "It's time," he said, breaking out into a big smile. "We've all talked about it and you've been in here long enough. If it hasn't happened by now… really don't think it's going to."

Daryl was so happy. He already believed what Rick just said for days, but there was something about knowing that the whole group agreed with him that made it all the sweeter. Now if only they could get Carol to agree. While both him and Rick were smiling at her Carol still looked serious. "Carol… smile… it's over," Rick said, reaching for her. Daryl watched the two of them hug. He knew how Rick felt but the look on Carol's face was a look of uncertainty that made him nervous. "Come on, let's get you out of this room," Rick said, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her out the door. Daryl followed, unable to stop smiling.

His smile faded when he stepped outside. "What's going on?" Carol asked, looking around at the entire group gathered in the main room. Daryl was wondering the same thing. He suspected they would be there to greet her when she finally came out, but there was something more going on. There was a strange tension in the air that gave him a bad feeling.

"Everyone is here so we can talk," Abraham said. "We have some pretty big decisions to make."

"What? What do you mean?" Carol asked, looking at Daryl and then back towards the others.

"We have to decide what to do next," Abe continued. "Whether we stay here or try to get you to D.C."

"Why is always about Washington with you?" Carol snapped. She looked mad. "What if I don't want to leave? What if the others don't want to leave?" She scanned the room for support, as did Daryl, but it seemed like they had been doing a lot of discussing while he and Carol were locked away. "Don't I have a say in this?" she hissed. "I just want things to be normal again." Daryl understood. He wouldn't have wanted the attention had he been in her shoes.

"Carol… you could cure this…" Rick said gently.

For some reason Eugene couldn't seem to talk directly to Carol so he looked at Daryl instead. "Whatever she's got, it's special. Whether we go anywhere or not, I need to study her."

"No," Carol said angrily. "No," she repeated. "I'm not special. I don't want to be special." They all watched in shock as she tromped towards the room, slammed the door and clicked the lock.

"Oh Fuck," Daryl muttered, knowing they were gonna have their hands full. He bit his lip, deciding the others might not find her hissy fit nearly as amusing as he did. Now the only problem, he thought, is how do I get her to let me back in that room?


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, open up," Daryl said, knocking and trying the handle, even though he already knew it was locked.

"Go away," Carol replied sharply from inside.

"It's me, come on… open up," Daryl pleaded. He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately spun to face Abraham and Rick. "Leave," Daryl insisted. "You've done enough," he growled. He knew they didn't completely deserve his anger, but Daryl was mad that they had obviously been talking a lot about Carol's future and no one, not once, had said a word to him, or to Carol for that matter, about it. On the other hand, they were all still under the assumption she was dying, so why would they? Daryl saw both sides, but he was too pissed off that they'd upset her when she should have been celebrating the fact that she had survived and would live.

When they walked off without a word, signalling for the others to clear the area for a while, Daryl knocked again. "Carol, come on. You know I'll bust the damn door if you don't let me in," he warned. It wouldn't take much more than a kick and he'd be inside. After a few seconds he heard a click and he tried the door again to find it unlocked. Daryl pushed it open and stepped inside. "Wouldn't think you'd want to be stuck in here any longer," he said gently.

"It was the closest place," Carol muttered, plunking down on the edge of the bed. "What do you want?" she hissed at him.

"Hey, easy, I didn't do anything," Daryl shot back. He knew she was mad, but they always held each other accountable and he hadn't done anything to warrant her anger towards him.

"That's the point," she snapped. "You didn't say anything when they were all making grand plans about my future."

"You didn't leave me much time before you stomped off and slammed the door," Daryl said, taking some of the edge out of his voice as he spoke. "I didn't know that was gonna happen. I've been here with you 95% of the time."

"I know... " Carol sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

Daryl sat down beside her. "Listen, you know we're always straight up with each other, right?" Carol nodded and looked at him. "I ain't gonna say I'm happy about the way that went down. Felt like an ambush. But..." he could see Carol tense with the last word. "But couldn't you at least talk to Eugene? See what he has to say?" Carol went to protest, but Daryl silenced her. "Ultimately the decision is in your hands, but it ain't gonna hurt to listen is it?"

"Guess not," she replied, looking a bit defeated.

"Talk to me. What're ya thinkin?" Daryl encouraged her.

"It's just too much," Carol said, searching his eyes for understanding. "I went from thinking I was going to die, to realizing I'm going to live, to being the one who is going to save the world… all in a matter of a few days." She paused and massaged her temples as if she had a headache. "I really thought I was going to die. I made peace with it not long after I was bit. And now I'm struggling with the fact that I survived. I survived a bite Daryl… that's not supposed to happen." She shifted and shook her head. "I have to come to terms with that and I don't know how. I don't know how to not believe that all of a sudden, one day, I might just start to change."

"That's not going to happen," Daryl interjected.

"You don't know that. We don't know that. Nothing is for sure," she said passionately. "Everything about my situation is different. And I don't want to be different. I just want to be me and do my part with the group like I always have."

"Carol," he said softly. "You've always been different. And you've always been special." Her eyes snapped back to his. "You're a hero. And… this is no different." She seemed to be waiting for him to say more so Daryl continued. "You've always done whatever needed to be done to protect this group, even at huge risk to yourself. You ain't never asked for anyone's help, any one's permission, you just do it. You might have the chance to save us all, not just for the short term, but for the rest of our lives." She continued to look at him and Daryl felt like she wanted him to keep talking. "What if Eugene can find a way to use your blood or somethin' to make a cure or a vaccine that he can give the rest of us? It's not gonna make the walkers disappear, but it's gonna make it a helluva lot safer for us to deal with them."

Carol sighed again. "Listen, I need some time alone to think. Do you mind?" Daryl nodded and stood. He was pretty sure he gave her some things to think about and he knew she wasn't angry with him, so his mission was accomplished. He started for the door but Carol stopped him, "Hey, one more thing before you go…" Daryl turned to look at her. "When you said the other day… when you said you loved me… I know it's because you thought I was dying…" What the fuck was she talking about? Daryl wondered. "And it's okay… we can just pretend it never happened."

"Oh okay," Daryl heard himself say, while in shock. Numb, he turned and headed out the door. Oh okay? Oh okay? What kind of answer is that? Go back in, tell her she's wrong. Tell her you love her, his mind was screaming. But wait, why did she just let you off like that? Why did she want to pretend it never happened? She doesn't want to be with you? She wanted the chance to take back her own words? There has to be a reason. Go back and find out. Go see what's going on. Don't just walk away.

"Hey, we're going on a quick run. Couple hours tops," Glenn said, interrupting his internal dialogue. "You wanna come?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Daryl agreed quickly. He needed a distraction. He needed to get out - get away a little while. Part of him felt like maybe he should stay in case Carol needed him. But she said she wanted time to think… Daryl followed Glenn and joined Michonne and Sasha to head out on the run.

It was a pretty simple an uneventful supply run. They needed to restock their drinking water supply. The town had a bottling company so every couple of weeks they would make a trip and bring back several cases of bottled water. Daryl remembered the day they found the warehouse filled with hundreds of cases of water. It was always a worry they would run out of water to drink. There was always the option to filter or boil it, but when they could find water that was already safe it made things so much easier.

He tried to listen to the conversation going on and partake, but his mind kept wandering back to Carol. Why the fuck did she do that? And why the fuck had he let her? Daryl made a silent vow to get to the bottom of it, as soon as she got over all the other things that were bothering her. He didn't want to add any more stress.

When they returned to the fire hall Daryl immediately noticed that Carol had emerged from the room and was sitting with Eugene and Abraham, talking. Her posture looked a bit guarded but her face was relaxed and he even saw her smile. He stood off to the side, a ways away watching the exchange with curiosity. He would talk to her when she was done to find out how it went.

"Hmm, looks like Abe's got a new mission," Tara said with a laugh, leaning on the wall beside him. Daryl gave her a look. "I thought him and Rosita were tight… but the way he's looking at Carol… maybe I will have a shot with her soon."

"What are you talking about?" Daryl grumbled.

"You know I'm a lesbian right?" Tara asked, giving him a strange look.

"Yes, 'course," he replied quickly.

"Just saying that if Abraham starts something with Carol, that'll free up Rosita…" Tara shrugged.

"That ain't what I mean," Daryl snarled. "What makes you think Abe's got a thing for Carol?"

A look of realization crossed her face. "Oh you… and her? You're? I didn't know…" Daryl was about to correct her when Tara continued. "Does she know? Because if she doesn't you might wanna saddle up Cowboy," she punched his arm. "Because the army is moving in."

Tara walked away, leaving Daryl stunned and angry. He turned back to the trio and saw things from a new perspective. Abe was looking at her different than he had before. He kept smiling at her and touching her shoulder in conversation. Daryl felt something seething inside him. And he wished even more than he'd corrected Carol before. Wait, what if she changed her mind because she was interested in Abe too? Daryl thought back to the other night when he'd walked back in the room while Abe was visiting. No, it's not true, he tried to reason with himself. He would get things sorted out. As soon as Carol was finished with Eugene.

Suddenly Abraham stood up. "Can I get everyone's attention," he called out. The group members started to gather round. Daryl didn't move. He could hear perfectly fine from where he was. "I just want to let you know that Carol has agreed to let Eugene do some blood tests and comparisons. Other than that, we're going to carry on pretty much as usual, stay here for now… Until we know more." Daryl was watching Carol and he saw her tense at the last part. It gave him a small jolt of satisfaction that she was obviously annoyed at the indirect hint at Washington once again. "Just like I protected Eugene for many months, I will make it my personal mission to protect Carol now."

Daryl barely noticed the look of shock on Carol's face because he was already stomping towards Abe. "She don't need you to protect her," Daryl snapped. "She can look after herself, and she has me."

"Oh you mean like you protected her when she got bit?" Abe snapped back. "Or the time you lost her in Atlanta?"

Daryl felt the rage boiling inside him and he snapped. He lunged at Abe and felt his fist smash into his face. It hurt like hell but he wasn't done. He went to swing again, but Abe blocked it and delivered a punch of his own, right into Daryl's gut. He grunted and doubled over as it knocked the wind out of him. But he wasn't about to give up. Daryl attacked again and the two of them scuffled until finally he felt someone pulling him away, trying to restrain him. "Enough," Rick yelled. "Both of you, enough." His voice was sharp and commanding and Daryl allowed himself to be pulled away from Abe. It was Tyreese that was holding him, while Rosita laid a calming hand on Abe's shoulder.

"Come on guys," Rick said, looking from one to the other. "This is not the time for this kind of bullshit." Daryl took a deep breath. "Something amazing happened here. Carol survived a bite. She's gonna live. We should be celebrating that, instead of attacking each other." Daryl knew he was right and risked a look at Abe. The way Rosita was touching him and the way he calmed so easily told Daryl that they truly cared for one another. If there was anything going on with how Abe felt about Carol it was because he was so determined to save the world and saw possibility in her. Daryl realized his jealousy had momentarily clouded his judgement, but he'd been wrong. He was sure of it. And he owed Tara a kick in the ass for her part in it.

Abe extended a hand. "Sorry, shouldn't have said what I did," he offered an apology.

Daryl reached out and shook it, "And I overreacted. Won't happen again."

Daryl took a deep breath and looked around for Carol. He needed to talk to her, make sure she was okay, find out what Eugene had told her and then… and then get the rest of it sorted out. He scanned the room and didn't see her. Without a word he checked the room she'd been in. Nothing. "Where is Carol?" he blurted out. Instantly everyone started to look around. "Carol," he yelled, running towards the door. Daryl heard a car engine start up and tires squeal. "No. Fuck. No," he yelled, watching one of their cars take off… with Carol in the driver's seat.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll come with you," Rick called out, as Daryl ran towards another vehicle.

"No," Daryl replied quickly, in a tone that told Rick it wasn't up for discussion. "I gotta do this myself. If I ain't back in 24 hours you guys can come looking. But give me a day. I hope to be back in a couple hours, but promise you'll wait if I ain't."

Rick stopped and agreed with a nod. "Trunk is full of supplies and weapons. Hers too. Be careful."

Daryl jumped in the car, waved and took off after Carol. There was only one main road out of town and he could just make out her car in the distance. "Where are you going?" he asked out loud, stepping on the gas to close the gap a bit more in case she decided to turn somewhere. The area was pretty flat, it wouldn't take her long to see someone was following. But would she stop? Or try to shake him? Daryl wondered.

If she knew it was him there might be a better chance she would give in. But how could he let her know? Daryl couldn't think of a way short of catching up and pulling up beside her, but he didn't want to risk scaring her off. So he followed and kept hoping she would pull over at some point.

Daryl was shocked when Carol made a right on a road just outside of town. She was heading right back to the spot where she was bit. The road was a dead end. There was nothing down there but the old canning factory that they had gone to check for supplies… but never made it inside. Why would she be going back there? Alone. The closer they got the sicker he felt. The inside of the factory itself was clear. Daryl had scoped it out before he took Carol there. He'd seen a storage room and he was confident it was full of canned food. They were just gonna slip in and stock up and right back out. The walkers came out of the woods, surprising them before they even got inside.

What were the chances the same thing would happen again? Slim. But Daryl still didn't want to be back there. The memories were still so fresh and even though Carol had survived it was still a scary and sickening moment.

Carol pulled her car up to the building. By that point Daryl was right behind her and she had no where to go even if she was planning to make a break for it. She would have seen him in the rearview. Carol had to know it was him.

She jumped out of the car and started towards the building. "You shouldn't have followed me," Carol yelled over her shoulder.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Daryl yelled back, jogging to catch up to her. He felt naked without his crossbow. The only weapon he currently had was the knife on his belt.

"Considering you're part of the reason I ran off, I was sincerely hoping you wouldn't," Carol shot back, not slowing.

"Me? What did I do now?" Daryl snapped. He knew he just opened himself up huge for one hell of an onslaught and he wasn't disappointed.

Carol spun, her blue eyes on fire, "Really? You really have to ask?" It was too late so he let her go. "What the hell was that? Tell me. Help me understand," she shouted. "Abe's a hot head. He's got a big mouth. You know that, I know that. So you just fly off the handle and attack him?" Daryl stared at his feet like a kid in school who just got sent to the principal's office. "I can't have bullshit like that going on, over me," Carol hissed. "I have enough other things to worry about, like apparently saving the fucking world." The f-bomb made Daryl look up and he knew it could get him in even more trouble, but he couldn't hold back the grin. She never said 'fuck' and it was cute. "What are you smiling at?" She huffed. "Stop. Now."

"Sorry," Daryl mumbled, looking away.

"I can't deal with this, I just can't," Carol said, throwing up her hands as if she was surrendering. "I've always been able to at least count on you and now..."

"Stop," Daryl said sharply. "You can count on me. You know I always have your back."

"Then what was that?" She said passionately. "How could you possibly think picking a fight with Abe over something stupid was going to help me?"

Daryl sighed. He knew the only way to make her understand was to be completely truthful. But was he ready for that? You have to be, a voice inside told him. He sighed again. "I'll explain everything, but can we go inside where it's safe?" His eyes drifted to the rotted corpses they had killed a few days earlier.

Carol nodded in understanding and led the way inside. There was what appeared to be a reception area near the entrance, with couches and chairs. They went in, shut the door and blocked it, just to be extra secure.

They both took a seat and Daryl tried to think of where to start. "If you're not gonna talk I have things to do," Carol snapped.

"Would you give me a sec?" Daryl growled back. "This ain't easy for me to say." He glanced at her and saw her face relax and a bit of anger disappear from her eyes. Daryl stood and started to pace, still trying to decide where to start. He felt like a caged animal, trapped, and the only way out, the only way to fix things was to be completely honest about his feeling - but he didn't know how.

Just start talking fool, his inner voice said. Daryl opened his mouth and closed it. Then opened it again and spoke. "Please just wait til I'm done before you say anything," Daryl requested. "I gotta just get it all out…" Carol gave a slight nod. "You wanna know why I attacked Abe, why I let him get to me… I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Carol repeated. Daryl gave her a look because she promised not to speak. "Sorry."

"I know now it was stupid, but Tara thought Abe was after you and that night I walked in and he was making you laugh and then he wanted to be the one to protect you and he pushed my buttons about losing you and you gettin' bit…" Daryl knew he was rambling and Carol looked completely confused. He was fucking it up. He was saying it all wrong. Daryl growled in frustration and started pacing faster. "Jesus Carol, don't you get it?" The words came out angry because he was mad at himself for not being able to say things right. "You think I only said I love you because you were dying. It was like you wanted me to take it back. Why? Why did you do that?" Carol hesitated, as if she was unsure whether she should speak or not. Her hesitation was just long enough that Daryl kept going. "And why did I let you?"

Finally her face revealed a look of understanding, followed by complete shock. "You mean…" she whispered.

"Yes that's what I mean," Daryl replied, finally taking a seat again. "I was an idiot. I never should have walked out of that room. The fact you were dying might have given me the balls to tell you, but the fact you're gonna live doesn't change anything."

"It doesn't?" Carol asked. Daryl looked into her eyes and for the first time in days he saw what looked like happiness.

"It doesn't," Daryl echoed. "But I need to know… why did you try to get me to take it back?"

"I don't even know," Carol sighed. "I guess I just needed to know you weren't just saying it because you thought I was going to die. And when you left like that… oh okay… I thought I was right."

"I'm sorry," Daryl said sincerely.

"Will you… will you say it? Now?" Carol asked tentatively. "I really need to hear it again."

"Say it? Oh… yeah…" Daryl stammered. She wanted to hear the words. "I love you Carol," he said, making sure his voice was calm, unwavering.

She smiled. "I love you too." There was an awkward moment of silence. "You really didn't think Abe and I…"

"Shut up," Daryl replied, knowing he might never live that down.

"I mean Abe? Come on," Carol continued. "He's not my type at all. Too… bossy - like Rick some days. Too much of an ego." She licked her lips and continued, "I was married to a man with an ego I had to stroke every day. Never again. I need an equal," she added gently, looking at him with a softness in her eyes that somehow made them even more beautiful. She had said it perfectly. That's why they were made for each other, why they made such a great team - because they both saw each other as equals. They respected the others opinion and trusted each other explicitly.

"Why did you come here?" Daryl asked, changing the subject for a moment.

Carol shrugged. "I came back to finish what we started. I was gonna gather the supplies, get away from everyone for a little while, do some thinking and then come back. I would have come back, you know that, right?"

"Do now," Daryl replied honestly. "But please don't run again. I don't care that you might be the cure. I don't care that you might save the world… All I care about it you. I can't lose you. I've known the feeling far too many times…"

"I'm sorry," Carol said, placing a hand on his arm. "I won't leave again… without you." She reached out and touched his face and Daryl winced. "You're gonna have a black eye again," Carol said, touching the area softly with her fingertips. There was a cut on his lip too and Carol touched it. He instinctively licked the wound, slightly catching her finger in the process.

The way she was looking at him had goosebumps prickling his body. Her stare was full of lust and Daryl's heart started to slam in his chest. There was a stirring in his pants, a tightening that he couldn't ignore, even if he tried. This time he didn't wait for her to ask, Daryl leaned in and attacked her lips, aggressively, hungrily - fueled with passion. The cut on his lip stung, badly, but Daryl didn't care. She tasted too delicious to stop.

Carol shifted positions and straddled his lap on the couch. Proving they were equals she took over control of the kiss and he let her. She licked at his lips and slipped her tongue just inside his mouth, taunting him, teasing him, pulling back when he tried to touch her with his own tongue. She was playing a game, acting like a temptress and it turned him on.

But eventually Daryl had enough of her teasing. He shifted his position this time, flipping her onto her back and resuming his position of dominance. The back and forth continued for some time, until finally Daryl pulled back breathless and sat up. Carol looked instantly disappointed than he'd stopped, but he needed air and he needed distance from her before he lost all control and started tearing off her clothes. His dick was completely hard and he knew Carol had to have felt it when he was on top of her. Daryl blushed at the thought.

"Better get back," he mumbled, starting to stand.

"Oh no way in hell you're getting off this time," Carol said, grabbing his hand. "Don't you want me?" she asked, her eyes wandering to the huge bulge in his pants. "I'm pretty sure you do."

"Course I do," Daryl muttered. "But… well… it ain't very romantic here." He assumed she would want their first time to be something a little more planned out and amorous

"Do I look like I give a damn about romance right now?" Carol asked him, her eyes wild with desire. Is this really happening? Daryl wondered. Yep, it is, he answered himself as Carol reached for the button on his jeans. Daryl hoped he would fucking last more than 3 seconds… but he wasn't counting on it.

She popped his button and reached for his fly when all of a sudden there was a loud bang from somewhere inside the factory…


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl decided he was definitely going to kill whatever or whoever was interrupting them. He pushed his button back through the hole, adjusted his fly and pulled his knife out of it's sheath. Carol was right behind him, knife in hand, as he kicked stuff out of the way and opened the door.

He scanned the area and didn't see anything but a loud bang echoed through the room again. Daryl pointed in the direction of the sound and Carol tucked in close behind him to follow.

Daryl peeked around the machine they were hiding behind and saw the source of the noise. There was a man, leaning back against another machine with tears streaming down his face. Every once in a while he would swing his arm and bang his fist against the sheet metal behind him in frustration.

Daryl motioned for Carol to take a look so she slipped in front and gazed around the corner. She looked back sadly at Daryl and mouthed 'help.' He nodded and they both slipped out from behind the machine.

"Excuse me, Sir..." Carol called out. "Do you need some help?"

The man instantly reached for his gun and aimed it at them, shifting it back and forth. Daryl put his knife in the sheath and held up his hands. Carol did the same. "Don't come any closer, I'll shoot," he yelled, voice shaky. Then all of a sudden he started laughing and lowered the gun. Daryl looked at Carol and she shrugged. "Ha, what the hell does it even matter?" He said between chuckles. "I'm bit. I'm dead anyway. Might as well come kill me, take my weapons... There's some food in my pack..."

"Hey," Carol said gently. "We don't want your weapons or supplies." She took a few steps closer. "What's your name? Is there anything we can do?"

The man was still acting hysterical. "I stayed locked up, safe, protected for months and months... Then I decided to leave. And you know what I found? I found this?" He grabbed a map and waved it around. "It was just sitting there on the ground, waiting to be found." He opened it up and read it, "Sorry, I was a asshole. Come to Washington. The new world's gonna need Rick Grimes." What the hell? Daryl thought in shock. "Rick Grimes... Rick Grimes..." He repeated, laughing again. "I think I was getting close too. I found a church. I think he was there... And then I got attacked. I was close... I know it... Close. So close."

"You know Rick?" Daryl asked carefully.

"Yup. He stayed at my house. Took me to the cop shop. Gave me weapons..."

"Oh my God," Carol gasped. "You're Morgan aren't you?"

Both Daryl and the man looked at her sharply. "How? H... H... How do you know my name?"

"We're friends of Rick's," she said quickly. "Michonne... You met her once right?" Carol described her and Morgan nodded. "She told me about you." Carol stepped closer. "We can take you to Rick, right now."

"You can?" He looked up at Carol in wonder. Daryl realized quickly that this man had probably been alone far too long. If he wasn't completely crazy, he was well on his way. "I would like to say goodbye, tell him I'm sorry."

Daryl had no idea what he was talking about. But he got a sense that Carol did, so he would ask her later. Daryl moved closer. The bite on his leg looked pretty bad. It could likely be patched up with several stitches... If it mattered. "How long ago?" Daryl asked, pointing at the leg.

"Bout an hour," Morgan replied.

"Then you'll understand that we have to tie you up, right?" Daryl said, offering a hand to help him stand as Morgan nodded. The wound was bleeding pretty bad and it took both him and Carol to get Morgan to the car.

They put him in the back seat of the vehicle Carol had brought. Daryl tied his arms together and then tied the rope to the handle of the other door so if he did turn he couldn't go anywhere.

Carol was about to climb in the drivers seat but Daryl stopped her. "Switch," he said. There was no way he was putting her in danger, even if he had secured Morgan tightly.

"Oh fine," she muttered, heading for the other car. Once Carol backed out, Daryl followed and they flew back to the firehall.

Carol ran inside yelling for Rick, while Daryl untied Morgan and helped him out of the car. It was complete chaos for a good 20 minutes before they finally got Morgan settled in the same room Carol had stayed in. Rick and Carl were inside talking to Morgan and the rest were huddled around out in the main room. Daryl noticed Eugene off to the side, talking to Abraham in a very animated way. Abe kept shaking his head, but Eugene was being very persistent.

Daryl nudged Carol, "Whaddya think that's about?"

Carol narrowed her eyes, "I don't know but I suspect it's about me, so I'm going to find out." She made a beeline for the two men and Daryl followed. "What's going on?" Carol interrupted. Daryl hung back a bit, but close enough to hear every word.

"Eugene wants to experiment with Rick's friend in there," Abe sighed. "But the man is dying and he's making his peace with Rick… And he's fucking loopy. I don't know if it's such a good idea."

Eugene looked at Carol, "It's actually up to you."

"What do you have in mind?" Carol asked, surprising all of them.

Eugene started talking faster than usual, "Well I would like to give him a transfusion of your blood. I believe that there's a chance that by putting your blood into his body it might fight the virus and make him immune as well. The worst that can happen is giving your blood infects him and he dies. But he's already been bit, so what's it gonna hurt?"

By that point, several others had gathered around. "How do you know his blood type? How do you know mine is even compatible? Couldn't you poison him or something if it's not?"

"You're O neg," Eugene said with a grin. "That's why I was excited the other day. O negative blood is the universal donor. Any blood type can receive it."

"Okay… do we have equipment to do this? Do we have anyone who knows what to do?" Carol asked, looking around at the group who had joined them.

"I, uh… I think we have all the supplies we need," Rosita spoke up. "I can do stitches and fix wounds, but I don't know how to take blood."

"I can do it," a voice from the back spoke up. Daryl watched as Maggie stepped forward. "I helped Dad a few times. I know how."

Carol started to nod. "Okay, let's try it."

Daryl rushed to her side as the others started to spread out to get prepared. "Hey, you sure about this?"

Carol sucked in a breath, "Guess I have to accept my new role sooner or later, huh?" She gave him a little smile, "Besides, if it works… I won't be the only one with blood that can save the world." She had a point. If Morgan lived after the transfusion he would also be immune to bites, just like Carol. It would take some of the pressure off of her. "And if anyone else in the group gets bit, we know how to save them."

"Maggie better know what the fuck she's doing," Daryl mumbled. He still hadn't completely got over being angry with her.

"Hey," Carol said, setting a hand on his forearm. "Some people deal with grief differently. Give her a break."

Leave it to Carol to stick up for the woman who was willing to let her die. "Fine," he agreed, but only because he knew that's what Carol wanted. He would let it go, but he would also keep his eye on Maggie. If she acted in any way hostile towards Carol he would put her right back in her place.

The two of them were alone for the time being and he noticed Carol take a quick peek around to make sure. "So, I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you're not up for the rest knowing about us quite yet." Daryl actually hadn't really thought about that yet, with everything else that had happened. He didn't confirm or deny, but let her finish. "I'll leave my door unlocked tonight. Once the others are asleep, will you come?"

Daryl hesitated. Not because he didn't want to spend the night with her, but he wasn't sure what exactly she was referring to and if she was thinking they were gonna pick up where they left off… "You're givin' blood and you're still weak from the bite and infection…"

"I didn't mean that…" Carol gave him a look.

"Oh…" Daryl said, embarrassed he'd assumed incorrectly.

"I just… There's still so much on my mind. So much pressure. So many changes. I'm nervous. I just wanna have you there while I sleep," she explained.

"I'll be there," Daryl said, seconds before Maggie called out that she was ready.

"Shouldn't someone go in there and let Rick and Morgan know what's going on?" Carol asked. Michonne offered, since she was the only other one who had met Morgan before, and of course had a close relationship with both Rick and Carl. Carol sat down and bared her arm. "Why do we even have this stuff anyway?" she asked. Daryl was wondering the same thing, looking at the various medical supplies - needles, tubing, glass containers, bags to collect the blood in.

"The medics could have shared the fire hall," Abe spoke up. "Sometimes in small towns the fire and EMS share one building. There were all kinds of supplies… I almost wonder if maybe they did blood drives here," he added. "It was strange they even had the bags." He shrugged, "Maybe this is where the Red Cross hosted their drives and they stored supplies here." It was all rather convenient Daryl thought, but it made sense. He'd seen signs at the local firehall where he lived before the ZA advertising blood drives by the American Red Cross. Daryl wasn't a big believer in fate and the work of a higher power, but it certainly seemed like someone was helping them out.

"You ready?" Maggie asked Carol. The others left to give Carol some privacy, but Daryl hovered. He couldn't help it. He watched as Maggie stuck the needle into Carol's arm and nothing happened. "Shit, I'm sorry. I must have missed…" Daryl was seriously ready to strangle her but Carol shot him a look. Maggie tried again and instantly the tubing started to fill with dark red blood. "Oh thank God," she muttered. "Daddy always made that part look so easy."

The process took about 10 minutes. When the bag was full Maggie removed the needle and closed off the bag filled with Carol's blood. "Will you go get her a juice box and one of those packs of cookies we found at the gas station?" Maggie asked Daryl. "Gotta stay here for a bit and rest, okay?"

Michonne appeared as Daryl took off to get the food and drink. He heard her say Morgan was on board and turned back to see Maggie start gathering what she needed to give him the transfusion. When he returned both Maggie and Michonne were gone and Rosita was sitting with Carol. "Thanks," Carol said to her when Daryl returned and Rosita took the hint and left. He handed her the juice and cookies. "I feel fine," Carol said, but she put the straw in the juice and opened the cookies anyway. Neither of them had eaten all day, so she was likely hungry anyway. "Here, you have the other one," Carol said, handing him a big chocolate chip cookie. Daryl accepted it and his stomach grumbled as he ate the whole thing in seconds.

"How long you think it'll take?" Daryl asked her.

"Maggie said the transfusion will likely take close to 2 hours, but who knows how long before we'll know if it worked," she shrugged. "I guess we just wait and see if he turns or not."

Daryl nodded. "You sure you're okay?" he asked, feeling like she was a little distant.

"I just need this to work Daryl," she said with a sigh. "I just can't be the only one… I just can't."

He sat beside her, "We still don't know why you're immune. Maybe you're not the only one, we just don't know it yet."

"I've been trying to think of reasons I might be different…" Carol sighed again. "I've had a few transfusions before. After Sophia was born. After a bad beating once…" Daryl tensed at the thought of her being beaten. "But other than that, I can't think of anything. I was never on regular medication. I've never had any sort of disease or disorder. The odd cold and flu, but nothing else. Beth gave me something in the hospital. I heard her talking to that Dawn girl when I was starting to wake up. But I have no idea what it was or if it even matters."

"We may never know why you're different," Daryl said, when she stopped talking. "But maybe you could try looking at the positive side. I know it ain't easy. But you're immune to walker bites. You ain't never gonna turn or become one of those things. That's pretty fucking awesome," he gave her a smile. It was a comfort to him to know that he would never have to stab her in the head or see her turn like his brother did.

"I know. You're right," Carol said, giving him a weak smile in return. "I'm tryin'."

The transfusion took just over 2 hours and though Morgan had a bad fever and seemed to be in pain, he still hadn't turned. They took Rosita in to patch up his leg. Everyone was being very optimistic. By bedtime that night Morgan was still hanging in there and hadn't got any worse. They planned shifts to stay with him. Rick first, Michonne second, and Abe would take the early morning… if necessary. Daryl didn't step up and offer because he had something far more important to do.

When everything was quiet he crept out of his room and walked two doors down to Carol's room. She was awake when he slipped inside. "Hi," she said, looking sleepy, but very happy to see him.

"Hi," Daryl replied. She flung back the covers as an invitation to join her. He slipped into bed beside her and pulled the covers over them both. Carol rolled over with her back to him and then scooted closer and closer until she was tucked up against him. When Daryl had thought about sharing a bed with her, alone in his room earlier, he could barely control his dick. He'd seriously considered masturbating before he joined her in hopes it would take his hormones down a notch. But now that he was there, knowing she needed him for comfort, he was strangely able to wrap Carol in his arms and just enjoy the feel of her, without anything sexual happening with his body. "Good night," he whispered. Carol didn't reply. She was already sleeping.


	7. Chapter 7

"You're still here," Carol mumbled sleepily, when she woke wrapped in Daryl's arms. It was morning - fairly early though. "I thought you might have snuck out when the coast was clear," she said with a yawn and a smile. Carol knew he was shy and it would likely take a while for him to get comfortable being in a relationship, and that was without everyone else knowing about it.

"I did leave, to see how Morgan was, but I came back," Daryl admitted.

"You came back," Carol said with a sigh. She knew she was being totally girly, but she was also doing it to tease him.

"Stop," Daryl said, poking her tummy.

"How long ago were you up?" Carol asked, catching his hand and holding it, whether he liked it or not. He didn't seem to mind.

"Mmm, 2 maybe 3 hours ago," Daryl replied. "Michonne was still on watch. Abe's likely in there now…"

"How was he?" Carol asked hesitantly. The fact that Morgan was still alive was huge. But maybe her blood was just slowing the process, not completely curing him. There were still moments she would feel funny inside and instantly freak out that it was finally happening, then realize she was just hungry or had to go pee or something normal. Carol still couldn't help but wonder if someday…something would trigger her body and she would just turn. It wasn't like her to dwell on stuff anymore - That was the old Carol. But this was her life. And there was also the fact that she could hurt her family if she were to turn without them expecting it.

Daryl's voice interrupted her thoughts, "He's hanging in there. Seemed to be sleepin' comfortable when I checked." Daryl shifted. "Might be too soon to say this, but… it could have worked."

"That's the thing, isn't it?" Carol sighed. "It's always about the wait. How long? When can we be sure?"

"You ain't still thinkin' bout yourself are you," Daryl said, snapping his gaze to her.

"No," she tried to lie to start, but gave up. "Yeah, a bit. I still wonder if…"

"Well don't," Daryl cut her off. "It's over." His voice had a commanding tone that he didn't often use with her. The rarely fought or argued, but this was a tone of voice he would use to end an argument. It was saying - case closed. Carol just wished she could believe it. "Carol, it's over." He didn't often say her name and it captured her attention.

"It's over," she found herself repeating. In that moment, she believed it, simply because he did and he wanted her to. Carol took a deep breath and stretched. "We should get up I guess. See what the others are up to. See if Morgan needs anything…" Daryl shifted again and for the first time she caught a good look at his eye. "Oh my God, that looks bad," she gasped. His eye was swollen almost shut and was dark with bruising.

"Ain't nothing," Daryl waved off her concern.

"Well it was stupid and you deserve it," Carol added. "I hope Abe's face looks just as bad." Daryl shook his head and smiled. Their honestly with each other was something that made their relationship unique and special.

"I hope it does too," Daryl added with a snicker, before climbing out of bed. Carol followed. "You, uh, wanna go first? Let me know if the coast is clear?"

"Sure," she replied, gathering everything she needed to take to the bathroom the ladies were sharing. With a secret smile Carol made sure Daryl saw her clean panties, thinking about him handing her a new pair after her shower the other day. She chose a cute, lacy red pair and when she glanced in his direction his cheeks were almost the same color as the material. When they first started raiding houses and shops, taking clothing, Carol would always look for comfortable and practical underwear. But when they found a house where the woman must have owned stock in Victoria's Secret Maggie and Michonne talked her into taking a few nice pair. It was surprising just how comfortable and durable they were. And it always felt good to slip on a sexy pair of panties - even if it was underneath dirty, ripped clothing.

When she was ready Carol opened the door and peeked outside. She waved Daryl out when no one was in the hallway. "See you in a bit," she whispered. Daryl nodded and headed for his room.

Somehow she was ready and downstairs before him. Most of the group was up and lingering around, all likely curious as to how Morgan was doing. Daryl came down the stairs and Carol could see him instantly looking for Abraham. Not surprisingly, Abe had been watching for him as well. Carol eyed the entire exchange with curiosity. They both looked at each other's battle scars, Daryl's black, swollen eye and Abe had a huge bruise on his cheek that spread over towards his nose. Daryl approached and slowly both men started to smile and then did some boy-handshake. That was it. It was over. If only it was that easy for women to get over things, Carol thought.

By process of elimination Rick was back in the room with Morgan. It was confirmed when he emerged with a huge smile. "He's awake. Fever is completely gone," Rick announced.

Carol felt her body relax with relief. "Oh my God, it really worked," she whispered, gazing towards Eugene. The man looked positively euphoric. If Carol hadn't heard about his voyeuristic tendencies she would have put money on the man being turned on by science and science alone.

"Carol," Rick called out. "He's asking to see you."

"Oh… okay…" she said, glancing at Daryl before she joined Rick to go into the room.

"I'll give you two a few minutes," Rick said, excusing himself and leaving Carol alone with the stranger.

She looked him over and immediately thought of how she'd felt, lying in that same bed, convinced she was going to die… only to find out she was somehow immune to bites. It was a bit different for Morgan, but Carol knew he was likely having many of the same feelings. "It's weird isn't it?" Carol said, taking a seat beside the bed.

"Yes," he replied emphatically. "It's hard to wrap my brain around it. I'm supposed to be dead. But I'm not. Thanks to you," he added, smiling at her.

Carol shrugged. "I'm just happy I was able to help." She smiled back, "And honestly, it's really nice not to be in this alone any more."

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, looking slightly confused.

"They all think I can save the world…" Carol sighed. "It's a lot of pressure. But now, chances are you're immune too, sooooo…."

"Got ya," he replied. "It's not all on you anymore." He silently stared at the ceiling for a moment, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Do you worry that maybe… ya know, maybe it's just delayed or something? That you'll still turn?"

"I do - I mean I did," Carol said. "I decided just this morning that I have to believe it's over. I can't go on wondering, being scared… I just can't live like that."

"Your husband…" Morgan started.

"He's not my husband," Carol interjected instantly.

"Oh…Sorry… It's just…" Morgan smiled wistfully. "He looks at you like I used to look at my wife." Carol had no idea how to reply to that. On one hand she was pleasantly surprised that a complete stranger picked up on how Daryl felt about her. But on the other, if her and Daryl had any hopes of keeping it quiet for a while… It wasn't looking good. "Anyway, I was just going to ask if maybe I could talk with him as well? Thank him for his help bringing me back here and all."

"Oh, yes, of course," Carol replied, standing up.

Morgan grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Carol, I really am grateful for everything. I must have looked like a crazy, rambling lunatic when you found me… yet you still brought me here, to Rick… and saved my life. Thank you."

Carol squeezed his hand and nodded. Morgan released her and she went to find Daryl. He was giving Glenn a hard time about something when she interrupted them. "Hey, Morgan wants to talk to you."

"Me? Why me?" Daryl grunted.

"He just wants to say thank you. Go," Carol said, giving him a shove.

The day passed quickly, with everyone in great spirits given Morgan's improving condition. Carol noticed a lot of looks and a few whispers, but she tried to ignore it. These people were her family. They needed to get over talking around her and just say things to her face like they used to. She decided to give it a few more days before she lost her shit.

They often gathered together in the rec room in the evenings. There was a pool table, foozeball, some board games… It was kind of a nightly ritual to just hang out for a while and relax as a group. Not everyone was there every night, but quite often most showed up at some point. Carol stopped by for a few minutes, but only to say goodnight. She didn't get the chance to talk to Daryl alone, but before she left the room she caught his eye and gave him a look she hoped to hell he understood.

On the way back to her room Carol stopped at the washroom to freshen up. If Daryl took the hint and everything went as planned… they wouldn't just be sleeping in her bed later on. When she got in her room Carol undressed, down to only her red panties and slipped under the covers. The sheets felt good on her bare skin but all she could think about was how it would feel to have Daryl touch her. To have his fingertips brushing her skin, his naked body pressed against hers, and to have him inside her - finally.

Carol slipped her hands down her body, over her breasts, feeling her nipples stiffen as she brushed past them. She moved down over her belly, where there was a fire burning from thinking about him, and grazed the waist of the panties. Before she had a chance to slip her hand inside the door swung open. She watched his shadow enter, shut the door and click the lock.

As Daryl moved closer she could see his face in the glow of the dim lantern beside the bed. Without a word she pushed back the cover, revealing her body to him. Daryl groaned as his eyes washed over her. "Take off your clothes," Carol commanded. She honestly didn't know she had such a bold side in her. But the desire to be with Daryl was fueling her. She needed him so badly her body was aching from head to toe. With each thump of her heart she could feel the blood coursing through her veins, hot with desire.

She had worried he might be shy or hesitant and that she would have to coax him out of his clothes, or undress him slowly. Carol would of, if she had to. She wanted Daryl to be comfortable. But the second she had demanded he undress Daryl started instantly.

Carol knew he had scars on his back that he was ashamed of, she had seen them before. She suspected not many people had though. She truly hoped that the fact she already knew and the deep level of trust and understanding they had would allow him to be comfortable with her seeing them again. He didn't hesitate to remove his shirt, which Carol took as a good sign.

She watched as he kicked off his boots, tugged at his socks and then dropped his jeans to the floor, shoving them away with his foot. There was a slight hesitation with the underwear, but Carol got the sense he was treating the clothing removal like ripping off a bandaid - just get it over with fast.

He pushed them down and Carol seriously though she was going to come just looking at him. He was beautiful. Every part of him, from his broad shoulders and muscular arms, to the chiseled collar bones, to his narrow waist and, well, a cock she could only describe as breathtaking. He wasn't ridiculously huge like every hero in every romance novel she'd ever read. If she had to guess she'd would have thought he was pretty average in size. But what made it so perfect was the fact that it was all for her. Daryl wanted her so badly that he was completely hard just looking at her.

He was ready. She was ready. Carol realized that neither of them needed anything more than what was right in front of them. She slinked out of her panties and reached out towards him. It didn't need to be romantic or planned out. All she wanted was to be with him. Daryl put one knee on the bed and Carol slowly spread her legs, watching his face as he stared down at her. "Touch me," she whispered.

Daryl moved between her legs and grasped her thighs. He rubbed his hands up and down the outside, creating heat and friction. It was sexy and absolutely tantalizing to feel his rough palms on her smooth skin. Carol knew she was wet. If she reached between her legs her fingers would come back slick and slippery. There was a throbbing that only intensified when he reached forward to touch her breasts. His dick rubbed against her slit as he leaned to toy with her nipples.

Carol couldn't resist lifting her hips and rubbing herself against his hard cock. The hormones raging inside her were absolutely blinding. Daryl groaned as she continued to grind against his dick. Finally she couldn't take it anymore, she needed him inside her. She needed to feel him deep in her core, pushing in and out. Carol reached down and grasped his erection, feeling him throb and hearing him moan when she squeezed. She guided him to the right spot and Daryl thrust forward, her body sheathing him completely with one push.

Buried deep inside her Daryl didn't move. Carol could see the rise and fall of his chest as he panted with desire. He looked slightly terrified but she realized it was because he was already fighting with his body to keep control. It turned her on that he was practically over the edge with one push. He felt so good, filling her up, reaching spots that hadn't been touched in so long, that she was actually okay with just staying there, unmoving, simply enjoying the long awaited union. It was strangely enough. It wasn't that she didn't want to be fucked, slow and deep, or hard and fast… but if he couldn't - it was enough.

Daryl tried. He pulled out and moved back into her slowly, whimpering as he buried himself deep in her heat once again. He was fighting. She knew he was trying so hard to hold on for her. "It's okay," she said soothingly. "I promise, it's okay."

He tried again, even slower. The little bit of movement sent waves of heat coursing through her. It was the most amazing feeling. Did he know what he was doing to her? Daryl was so focussed on not going over the edge he likely had no idea what was going on with her.

He tried a third time, but a look of panic took over his face. "Oh God," he moaned. "I'm so sorry." Daryl started to fuck her, hard and fast, as if he had no choice but to give his body what it wanted. "So… sorry," he grunted, gripping her thighs and emptying his load deep inside her. It was incredible. Carol honestly couldn't remember a time she'd ever felt so satisfied without actually getting off. His face was so erotic while he came. Carol couldn't tear her eyes away if she tried. But as the orgasm faded and his eyes opened Daryl's face changed to a look of anger and utter embarrassment.

Carol felt sick to her stomach seeing him like that. He went to pull away from her but she grabbed his arm and held tight. "Don't… please," Carol pleaded with him, seeing the look of shame on his face. "Daryl, don't… it was perfect. You were perfect…"

"But you didn't…" he started.

"Stop, it doesn't matter. I will the next time. Or the time after that," Carol said, letting go of his arm and cupping his face with her hands. "Don't ruin something beautiful by filling your head with nonsense." He didn't look like he believed her yet. "I don't care. It doesn't matter. All that matters is you're here and we just shared something magical."

She knew she would never completely convince him. The male ego was something that bruised very easily, particularly when sex was involved. But his eyes did soften a bit and he moved to lay beside her. "I promise I'll make it up to you," he said, looking determined. "It's just been so long…"

"There's nothing to make up to me," Carol replied. "But…" she continued. "If you want to try… I'm willing to stay up late." She smiled at him. "Very late."


	8. Chapter 8

"Tell me what you miss most," Carol asked, lying naked beside Daryl, simply enjoying being close. They had been silent for quite a while and she wanted to distract him in case he was still beating himself up.

"I dunno," Daryl mumbled. "I ain't got much to miss. There wasn't much good before." He sought out her hand this time and Carol felt warm fuzzies spread through her body. She was still rippling with desire, and she knew they would get back to that soon, but for the time being she tried to ignore the need to take care of the ache.

"What about stuff... Things? You don't strike me as someone who was a cell phone junkie," she teased. "But what about… I don't know… Butter or homemade bread or late night television or pet puppies?"

Daryl snorted, "Ya think I ever had anyone make me homemade bread?"

"I would, if I could," Carol said, squeezing his hand. "I would make you homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies and pecan pie and…"

"Stop, you're making me hungry," he whined. "I miss football," Daryl announced. "Don't have many good family memories, but every once in a while there was a Sunday that Merle, the old man and I would just bum around, drink, smoke and watch the Falcons, the Saints and the Packers. We all had a different favorite."

"Ed never missed a Falcons game," Carol replied. "I only watched when they played the Saints."

Daryl rolled and draped an arm over her, pulling her a little closer. "Hmm, maybe you had more in common with Merle than you thought."

"Were you the Green Bay fan?" Carol asked gently.

"Yeah," Daryl sighed. "My mom… had this t-shirt. Musta got it from the thrift shop. It had a big Packers logo in the middle. Someone's name on the back… don't remember that. I think that's why I cheered for them. Made me think of her."

Carol nuzzled him. Under his tough exterior it was becoming more and more obvious that he'd always been a sentimental guy. Sentiment wasn't on his mind any longer though. He reached for Carol's leg and pulled her thigh up over his hip, rubbing the outside, like he'd done earlier.

That was all it took to reignite the fire inside her. It all seemed so surreal, being this close to him, so intimate. It took so long for Daryl to even let her touch him - though she was never one to force it like others had. Perhaps it was because she understood what it was like to be a victim of abuse and how important it was to let things develop gradually.

Daryl looked at her and his gaze dropped to her lips before he attacked them. There was something a bit different this time, something a little less apprehensive and a little more confident about the way he was touching her. His hand drifted away from her thigh and moved to her ass. Daryl squeezed and she moaned into his mouth. Carol could feel him getting hard as his dick pressed into her hip and belly. Jesus, she wanted to grind herself against him again, so badly. But Daryl seemed to want to be in control and she didn't want to take that from him.

He released her lips and dipped his head, finding a nipple and sucking it. Carol gasped and squirmed with anticipation. He moved from her breast and eased her flat on her back. She did her best to keep the squirming at bay as Daryl worked his way down the centre of her body with light kisses. She was pretty sure he wasn't actually going to go down on her, but she hoped he'd at least tease her a bit. Carol felt his kisses move lower and lower. He nudged her legs apart and kissed between them, nuzzling her gently. His breath was hot and it tickled her. Carol couldn't help but wiggle again. Fuck, how she wanted him.

Carol felt something different and she realized he was touching her, tracing his fingertip along her slit, up and down, up and down. Her mind was racing. Her heart was pounding. The room was spinning. And Carol wanted to scream. When he neared the top she wanted him to rub her clit, when he moved lower she wanted him to shove his fingers inside her. But she had no idea which one she wanted more. Both? Or maybe she just wanted his dick in her again? Something. Anything. She thought she wanted it, but the teasing was just too much. Too much tempting. Simply too much… Finally he gave her a bit, slipping a finger up inside her. Daryl groaned and she whimpered, lifting her hips in hopes he would push deeper. He added a second finger and slipped them in and out of her a few times. "Oh God," Carol moaned, moving with his hand. She needed more though… she needed all of him… "Daryl.. please…" she begged, pushing his hand away to let him know it wasn't enough anymore.

He pulled his hand back and moved into position, same as before. He had that look of determination again, but Carol was pretty sure he'd have nothing to worry about this time. By that point she was virtually clinging on the edge. He rubbed the tip of his dick over her opening and Carol squirmed yet again. She was about to lose her mind if he didn't give her what she wanted soon. Did he even know he was driving her fucking mad? Does he want me to beg more? Carol wondered. "Please," she whined, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Please, now…" she pleaded with him.

Daryl smiled. He knew. And he was enjoying it. But alas, he gave her what she wanted, slipping slowly inside her. "Mmm," she moaned, releasing her hold on him and relaxing her entire body to enjoy the feeling. Her relaxed state only last a few seconds as he started to move inside her. Each time he moved back in it was as if he pushed deeper and took her one step closer to the edge. It wasn't long before she was clinging to him, knowing she was close.

Even though she was was incredibly focussed on everything happening with her body Carol still noticed the bumps on his back under her fingers. She only let it bother her for a quick second as a wave of empathy washed over her and then went right back to being consumed by the euphoria inside her.

The build was incredible, but that moment when it all finally blew up was… indescribable. Carol hated comparing Daryl to Ed because there really was no comparison, but she couldn't help but think that it had never, not even once, been like that with him. Not even early on, when things weren't all that bad. There were so many factors that might have been affecting her, but they didn't matter. What mattered was how good she felt and the look on Daryl's face. He was happy and it made her happy too. This time when he came there was nothing inhibiting him from enjoying every second of it.

Carol noticed there was a light gleen of sweat on his skin when he slipped into bed beside her. She'd been so focussed on her own feelings she hadn't even realized how hard he'd been working. "Better?" she asked, placing her head on his chest, feeling the cool dampness on her cheek.

"Better?" he replied. It was a question, not an answer.

Carol laughed and tilted her mouth to his, kissing him softly. "I won't lie… that was… God, I don't even know… But there was nothing wrong with the first time either…"

"Just shush," Daryl said, putting a finger to her lip. "I'm trying to forget that still."

Carol kissed his finger, "You're not allowed to forget our first time."

"Fine," he grumbled, giving her one of his shy smiles.

Carol felt safe and comfortable in his arms and it made her sleepy. When she woke in the morning, she didn't even remember saying goodnight or falling asleep. She immediately noticed Daryl was gone and felt sad, even though she understood.

She was feeling giddy as she climbed out of bed and started her day. Carol was expecting to find Daryl downstairs, but she didn't see him anywhere. Maybe he's in with Morgan… or outside…she thought. Both theories were blown when Carol went outside and found Morgan sitting in a chair, getting some air. She asked how he was, chatted for a few minutes and headed back inside to continue her search.

"Hey, you seen Daryl anywhere?" she asked Glenn.

"Nope, been down here since sun up, haven't seen him," Glenn replied.

What the hell? Carol wondered. She headed back upstairs to check his room. She knocked on the door and waited. Nothing. Carol knocked again and tried the handle, "Daryl?" she called, pushing open the door. She poked her head in and saw him laying in bed. "Daryl? You okay?" He never slept this late. Her heart started to pound and she moved to him quickly. Daryl groaned. "Oh my God," she gasped. "You've been bit… when? How?" She searched his body for evidence. Nothing.

Carol ran to the top of the stairs looking over the main room. "Help, now," she screamed. "Rick… Glenn… Please." She moved back to Daryl's bedside and in seconds both Rick and Glenn were by her side, followed by Maggie and Abe.

"What the hell?" Rick asked. "Daryl?" he shook him. "Wake up… were you bit?" Daryl groaned and mumbled something that sounded like 'no.' Rick looked stunned. "How? How did this happen then?"

Carol started to shake. There was only one possibility. "Oh God… no… no…" she cried, tears filling her eyes. "No…"

Everyone was staring at her. "Carol?" Rick said gently. "What happened?"

"I did it…I infected him… It was me…" she sobbed, backing away in shock and terror. "It was me…" she repeated.

"How?" Rick looked confused. He took a step towards her, waiting for her to reply.

"We… last night.. we.. for the first time…" She was rambling in a panicked state. "Twice… it was me… I did this. He's gonna die because of me." Carol looked at Rick with tears rolling down her cheeks. "We had sex. And now he's infected." Her knees gave way and somehow Abe caught her before she hit the floor. "I'm so sorry. Daryl… I'm so sorry."


	9. Chapter 9

"Hold on now," Rick said in his thick southern drawl. "Your blood saved Morgan... Maybe a transfusion will save Daryl too?"

Well at least someone is thinking clearly, Carol said to herself, feeling a tiny bit of hope. "You're right... Let's do it, now," Carol insisted, looking at Maggie. Abraham was still supporting her, but Carol was feeling stronger and determined so she stepped away from him.

"But Morgan was bit," Glenn said gently. "This is different. What if her blood just makes him worse?"

"He's already dying, how much worse can it get?" Maggie said sharply. "I say we do this, immediately. Look at him," she pointed.

All their eyes turned to the body in bed. He was writhing and groaning in pain. "Maybe Eugene..." Abe suggested. They all nodded and he went out to the hallway and yelled from the stairs. "Eugene, get your ass up here STAT."

A few seconds later he returned, Eugene right behind. "He looks bad," Eugene said, stating the obvious. "What happened?"

There wasn't time to be embarrassed so Carol explained quickly, "We has sex last night and this morning he's infected. He wasn't bit. So he must have got it from me."

She looked over and Daryl and fought off the tears, there was no time for crying either. "We want to give him my blood like we did with Morgan. But we don't know if it will help or..." Carol looked at Eugene. "What other options do we have?"

He thought for a moment and then started speaking. "So we know you were bit and survived. Morgan was bit and survived with a transfusion of your blood. Daryl was infected through intercourse with you, a person who was bit but survived. So somehow your blood healed someone who was bit, but your, uh, bodily fluids infected someone who was not." He shook his head. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me at this point. I need to do some research..."

"We don't have time for fuckin' research," Abe growled.

"I know, I know," Eugene held up a hand. "I see two options. We take the chance that now that Daryl's body is reacting like he's been bit that Carol's blood will work to cure him. Or..." He looked at Glenn, "Go ask Morgan if he knows his blood type." Glenn ran out the door. "The other option is we give him Morgan's blood."

"But what if it ain't a match?" Rick asked. "What will happen."

"I will admit it's dangerous. Without the proper drugs and medical attention he would likely die," Eugene said quickly.

Carol felt sick again, but she forced herself to focus. She walked to Daryl's bed side and sat with him. Gently, she picked up his hand and held it while they waited for Glenn.

"O positive," Glenn blurted out breathlessly as he burst back into the room.

"Well that decreases the risk," Eugene stated. "If Daryl's blood doesn't have an rH factor he could receive it without incident. But if he's a negative blood type we could still have complications."

All of a sudden the room blew up in a huge argument about what to do. Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Abe and Eugene were all talking, yelling, and debating animatedly. Carol had enough. She stood up. "Hey," she yelled sharp and loud. It caught their attention and they all looked at her. "We don't have time for this. Maggie, go get the stuff and bring it here. You're gonna take my blood and give it to Daryl." Maggie nodded and left, with Glenn on her heels to help. "It's gonna work," Carol added. "It has to..." She looked at Eugene, "it's too much of a risk to give him Morgan's blood. And honestly, we don't even know for sure it would work." He nodded as if she'd made the right call.

Daryl moaned again and Carol ran back to his side. She stroked the hair off his head, feeling the burn of his skin on her fingertips. "Hold on, please," she whispered. "I can't lose you. Not now." She continued to stroke his forehead, needing to touch him. It seemed to ease the writhing and groaning, which was a bonus.

"I'm ready," Maggie said, gently touching Carol's shoulder. She hadn't even heard Maggie and Glenn return to the room, but when Carol turned around they had everything set up.

"Oh okay," she said, standing up and quickly moving to the chair they had set up for the transfusion. She was reluctant to leave Daryl's side, but she knew they needed to hurry. Maggie hit the vein on the first try and within about 15 minutes they had a bag of her blood ready to give Daryl. Carol tried to stand right after, but she was extremely dizzy.

Glenn grabbed her, "Whoa, better stay right there."

"He's thrashing, way too much," Maggie said. "We're gonna have to tie him down or something…"

"Let me sit with him," Carol said. "He seemed to calm down before."

"You need to rest," Rick said. "I know what it's like to give a lot of blood in a short amount of time."

"Don't argue with me now please," Carol sighed. "Just help me over there and let's do this."

With Rick on one side and Glenn on the other they helped her to Daryl's bed. She climbed in and drew his head onto her lap. The room was spinning, so Carol closed her eyes for a second to recover. Daryl was still wiggling around so she started to gently stroke his hair like she had before and he calmed a bit. "Daryl," she whispered softly. "I'm here. We need you to relax so Maggie can start a transfusion. Can you do that?"

His eyes flickered open and he looked up at her, just for a second. There was a slight nod of the head and he closed his eyes again. Carol looked at Maggie and gave her the go ahead. Dear God, please let this work, she prayed silently. I need him. We all need him. Please, if you're listening, if you're still there, help us. I've done things, questionable things, to save the people I love. But he's never done anything wrong. He doesn't deserve this. Please, if you have something against me, don't take it out on him.

It was the moment of truth. Maggie put the needle into Daryl's arm and hung the bag. "It's gonna work," Carol whispered, in a voice so soft only Maggie could hear her.

Maggie looked up and gave her and encouraging smile. "It's gonna work," she echoed.

Carol looked around the room. Rick. Abe. Eugene. Glenn. 4 men. 4 very different men. But they all had the same look on their faces. It was a combination of fear and doubt. But then there was Maggie. One woman. And in her eyes Carol saw hope. Maggie was the last person Carol thought she would see hope in, after all the woman had been through lately, but it helped immensely to have at least one other person who believed the way she did.

The waiting started. Like they'd all done so often lately… they waited. About 45 minutes into the transfusion Daryl started to gasp for air. Carol's heart started to pound. It wasn't something that typically happened when a person was about to turn. But then all of a sudden he completely stopped breathing. "Daryl… Daryl…" Carol shook him in panic. "Daryl… Oh my God, I don't think he's breathing," she yelled. "Do something… Somebody… do something…" Everyone jumped up. Maggie moved to the bedside and Eugene stepped closer.

"Carol… Be careful," Abe said. "He might be…"

"No… do something," Carol screamed, starting to move. If no one was going to try to resuscitate him, she would do it herself. As soon as she moved the room started to spin again and she had no choice but to stop.

"The blood," Eugene said, pointing at the bag. "It's almost gone."

Carol couldn't focus. The room was going black, both from being dizzy from the transfusion and from the sheer terror of the situation. He's gonna die. He's gonna die. He's gonna die. He's not gonna die. He's not. He's not. The voices were competing in her head. Everyone was talking. She could hear what they were saying but she had no idea who was saying what. It was all too much. Too much…

"_What does that mean?" _

"_I think we transfused him too fast. Slow the rate, now." _

"_Daryl didn't lose blood. We weren't replacing lost blood like in Morgan's case. There's a condition called fluid overload that affects breathing. It could be what's going on."_

"_Does anyone know mouth to mouth?"_

"_Do it. Now."_

"_Save him."_

"_Quick." _

Carol snapped back to present when Maggie was suddenly hovered over Daryl's face. She tipped his head back in Carol's lap, pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth twice. "Come on Daryl, come on," she begged. Maggie counted to 10 and repeated the process. On the 4th breath it worked and Carol instantly started to tear up with joy.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, reaching for Maggie's hand. "You saved him." Daryl's breathing was still laboured, but at least he was breathing again. The feeling of relief in the room was thick.

"Someone should fill in the others," Rick said.

"I'll go," Abe offered, knowing he was the least helpful in the room at that point anyway. "What… uh… what should I tell them?" he asked, looking at Carol.

"The truth," she said with a nod. "It's gonna come out eventually anyway." Half the group already knew about her and Daryl and there's no way Abe would keep it from Rosita, Eugene from Tara, Rick from Carl and Michonne… Tyreese, Sasha, Gabriel and Noah would find out too. Daryl might not be happy about it, but he'd get used to it. If he… No, she forced herself to remain positive. He'd already survived one serious setback… He was going to make it.

Carol studied his face. Even though his chest was still heaving as he struggled to breath his face looked calm. Carol wanted to kiss him, badly. But not with an audience. She looked at the bag of blood. It was nearing the end, but Maggie had slowed the rate considerably. She would wait. Once the transfusion was finished she would ask them to leave. There was nothing else they could do at that point anyway.

It took another half an hour for the bag to empty completely. Daryl seemed to be breathing a bit better, but his body was still on fire. Carol was actually sweating from the heat. She scanned the room again as Maggie removed the needle. Glenn and Eugene were talking quietly in the corner and Rick was pacing. The entire time they'd been going through this ordeal she hadn't taken a moment to consider how Rick was feeling. Daryl was his best friend. They considered each other brothers. This couldn't be easy for him either.

"Do you guys mind…" Carol started.

She didn't even have to finish the thought and Glenn, Eugene and Maggie were heading for the door. "Yell if you need anything," Glenn said. "We'll keep someone posted in the hall at all times."

"Thank you," Carol said, genuinely touched at how everyone was pulling together and supporting her and Daryl. "Rick, wait," she said, as Rick started to follow the others out. "How are you holding up?"

Rick moved to the side of the bed and looked down at Daryl. "Not so great," he admitted. Carol leaned her head against his stomach and reached an arm around him in the best gesture of a hug she could manage with Daryl's head still in her lap. "I'm glad," Rick said, squeezing her back. "I'm glad… you and him…" Carol understood. They didn't need anyone's approval, but for some reason it felt good to have Rick's.

"Thank you," Carol said, releasing him.

"If you need a break…"

"Of course," she nodded. "He's gonna be okay," Carol added. Rick gave her a look that said I hope you're right. Wordlessly he unsheathed his knife and handed it to her, knowing she didn't have a weapon on her, then left the room. Carol set it off to the side, within reach. She just couldn't hold it because it was a constant reminder she might need it.

Daryl's breathing had finally returned to normal, which was a slight comfort. Carol inhaled deeply and then placed a kiss on his forehead upside down. She leaned back against the wall to once again… wait.

It wasn't too long and Daryl started to stir. She assumed he was in pain again and started to play with his hair to soothe him, but this time when he groaned his eyes opened for the first time in hours. "What… Ugh… what's going on?" Daryl asked, looking up at her. "I feel like shit."

Carol didn't know if it meant anything that he was waking up, but she decided it had to be a good sign and she smiled. "It seems as though during our encounter… _encounters_, last night I infected you."

"Encounters?" Daryl asked, looking slightly confused.

"You don't remember? We… we made love… twice," Carol explained, wondering how far back his memory loss went.

"Oh… that was real?" A smile appeared on his face and it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "I thought it was an amazing dream… well the first part was a nightmare…"

"Hey, you promised," Carol warned.

Daryl nodded. "So what's going on? I ain't dying am I?"

"We did a transfusion. You stopped breathing, but Maggie saved you," Carol started to explain.

"Well fuck," Daryl replied. "Now I really have to be nice to her." Carol laughed. It was so good to have him talking to her and cracking jokes. Daryl shifted and pushed himself up with a groan. Carol tried to stop him, but he was determined to sit up. He moved beside her so they were both sitting up in bed, leaning their backs against the wall. "Ya know, if I do kick it… I'll die a happy man," he said, reaching for her hand.

Carol glared at him. "Okay, I get it. The death jokes are not funny."

"And I get why you wanted to make them," Daryl said. "You look too sad. I want to cheer you up."

"Well I have been wanting to do this," Carol said, catching his cheek with her hand and kissing him tenderly. It was a simply, close mouthed, gentle kiss, but it made her feel so much love and joy. A few hours earlier she didn't know if she would ever talk to him or kiss him again. He gave her a shy smile when they parted and Carol felt her heart melt inside her chest.

"So now what?" Daryl asked. "I guess I'm the next on death watch?"

Carol shrugged. "The waiting game." She felt his head again, and whether it was the truth or just wishful thinking she would have swore he felt a bit cooler. "Now that you're awake, I should warn you… they all know about us."

Daryl took a long deep breath. "Figured that much."

"You okay with that?" Carol asked in surprise. She was expecting him to be mad.

"I don't think too many of 'em are surprised by the news," Daryl replied. "Would have been nice to have a little more time to… prepare myself for the teasing… but it don't really matter."

Once again Carol saw just how much Daryl had matured in the time she'd known him. He really had gone from a scared and insecure child with fences up so no one could get in, to a man who was ready to trust and to love. "I think there's someone who would really like to know you're awake," Carol said. She tried to stand up, but the dizziness was still hindering too much movement. "Glenn? You out there?" she called loudly. The door opened and Glenn poked his head in. "Can you get Rick? Daryl's awake."

Glenn smiled with relief and nodded to Daryl. "Yeah, on my way."

"Thank you," Daryl said to her once Glenn was gone. "Carol… I'm gonna be okay."

Looking into his eyes… she believed it.


	10. Chapter 10

There was a commotion in the hall so Carol got up to see what was going on. She'd spent the night with Daryl. The fever broke before bed so Rick agreed they were likely safe. Carol had curled up at Daryl's side and they slept peacefully with relief.

They had both been awake for a few minutes when she heard voices in the hall, that seemed to be getting louder. Carol opened the door and peeked out. "What's going on?" she asked, looking at Abraham, Eugene and Tara talking animatedly.

"I was just trying to convince Eugene to leave you guys alone and go get some sleep," Abraham explained. Carol found it odd that even after everything that happened with Eugene's lie Abraham still had this air of leadership and protectiveness towards him.

"He's been up all night," Tara said, looking at Carol apologetically. She looked at Eugene. He was a mess, with big black circles under his eyes and hair sticking up all over making it look like a furry dead animal had plopped itself down on his head.

"It'll just take a minute," Eugene looked at her desperately. His face changed to a look of excitement, "I had an epiphany." She felt like she was staring at a mad scientist. It was almost amusing.

Carol looked to Abraham for explanation but he simply shrugged. "He said he wanted to tell you and Daryl first."

"Come in," Carol said, leading the three of them into the room. "Eugene has something to tell us," Carol let Daryl in on what was happening.

Once everyone was settled and looking at him Eugene spoke, "This whole thing is really quite fascinating, but baffling too. If I had a research lab I know I could figure out so much more, but there's one thing I'm quite certain of." He paused, likely for dramatic effect, which in itself was amusing to Carol. "We know everyone has the virus. Once we die, something happens and it's activated. We also know that you can be infected by being bit. In Daryl's case he was infected through intercourse." Carol laid a hand on his arm because without even looking she knew Daryl was ready to leap. "We always think of blood as the main source of transmitting diseases, infections, viruses et cetera, but… what I realized last night is that in this case it makes perfect sense that Daryl was infected the way he was. I mean there would have to be a cut or tiny scratch on his..." Carol wasn't quite sure where he was going, but she hoped he got there soon because she could feel Daryl tensing. "Anyway… we get infected through walker bites. The infection is in the saliva, bodily fluids, not in the blood. But it has to get into the bloodstream to infect us, which is why I know Daryl must have a cut on his..."

"Eugene," Abraham snapped, interrupting the sentence.

He was getting more excited and barely noticed. "Think of all the times we've been covered in walker blood but have never been infected. But one bite, even a tiny one, and we turn." He paused again, "I believe Carol is a living walker."

"What?" She hissed. "And this is supposed to make me feel better?"

"I never said that," Eugene replied, looking sad, as his news didn't have quite the same impact he was hoping for.

She was still holding Daryl back, even though she was feeling angry and considering just letting him attack. "Listen, Eugene isn't great at explaining things in a… polite manner," Abraham said, attempting to soothe the situation. "Just hear him out, but try to ignore the fact that he's more robot than human. It took me a while too, but I learned."

Carol relaxed a bit and nodded. "Uh, perhaps I chose the wrong words," Eugene struggled to be more considerate. "I just mean that you seem to possess the ability to pass on the virus through your bodily fluids like a walker. But you're clearly not dead or turned. If you were to bite someone I think they would become infected, like what happened with Daryl… sorta. Wait, you didn't bite him somewhere did you?"

"No," both of them answered at the same time. Carol caught a look of amusement on both Abe and Tara's face and she softened, but Daryl didn't. The scowl on his face was getting worse by the minute.

"Okay, okay, just wanted to be sure, in the name of science and all," Eugene replied. "Those are the things I know. The list of things I don't know grows longer every day."

"Like your mullet," Tara muttered. Carol snorted. She couldn't help it.

Eugene ignored her and continued, "I would like to put some ideas on paper and get the group together in a couple days to discuss things. I'm obviously the smartest one here, but maybe one of you will say something that triggers me."

"Is that your way of asking for help?" Carol said, smirking at him.

"You catch on quick," Abe chuckled.

"Yes, Ma'am, it is," Eugene replied. "Now I'm going to go sleep so my brain will remain sharp." With that he promptly left.

"That man is so weird," Carol mumbled, her eyes watching the door close behind him. "How did you…"" she looked to Abe.

"Don't even ask… it was a challenge," Abe said with a smile. "You two okay?" he asked.

Carol eyed Daryl who still looked like he was about to explode. He hadn't said a word, likely because he couldn't. "Yeah," Carol replied, still looking at Daryl. "We're fine," she answered for them both.

"We're fine, right?" Carol asked gently after the others left and she locked the door behind them.

"We are, but I might kill that dude in his sleep," Daryl growled. "Or cut his damn mullet." Carol giggled and even though she knew he was fighting it, Daryl smiled. The relief that he was okay washed over her once again and it was overwhelming to the point she had to sit down.

"He's right though," Carol started.

"Which part?" he replied, eying her.

"Well I think he's likely right about me," she sighed. "But I was referring to the part about the list of things we don't know getting longer and longer." Carol leaned back on the pillow. "Even between you and I. I mean, are you immune now, like me? If you get bit would you survive? He said the virus is in my saliva and other… fluids, like a walker, but it has to go into the bloodstream to infect someone. What if you're not immune and we… again… and you end up right back where you were yesterday morning?"

"That ain't gonna happen," Daryl said, reaching for her.

"You don't know that," Carol said, with emphasis. "We can't risk it." He looked disappointed. "Please don't think I don't want to, because there's honestly nothing - nothing, I want more right now. Being with you… in this world… with all this crazy stuff that's going on right now… it's like a sweet escape. I need it. I want it. It makes me feel normal. It makes me feel loved. It makes me feel like I'm not alone. But seeing you like that… Daryl, you almost died because of me, because of whatever I've got… I can't let that happen again." Carol shook her head. "I can't."

Daryl nodded and slipped out of bed. He started to undo his pants. "Daryl… did you hear what I just said…" Carol looked at him, completely baffled.

"Yeah, yeah… I just have to know," he replied, dropping his jeans to the floor, followed by his underwear.

"Know what?" Carol watched as he grabbed his penis and leaned down, examining it. She started to laugh when she clued in.

"Well the little fuck was right," Daryl muttered. "Look," he said, moving closer and pointing at a little red scratch just behind the head.

"At least he didn't demand an examination," Carol teased. "Did I do that somehow?" she wondered out loud.

"I ain't really sure where it came from," Daryl replied, pulling everything back up. Carol was struck with just how strange it was to be examining Daryl's penis so nonchalantly, with none of the former awkwardness. "Come on," he said. "I'm ready to get the fuck outta this room."

She knew the feeling and followed him out with a smile. Carol did her best to keep up the positive attitude for the rest of the day and forget about the fact that her and Daryl could no longer be intimate. She kept herself busy all morning and spent the afternoon watching Judith while several others went on a quick run. It drove her crazy that they still didn't want her to go. Rick hadn't out right said no, but he'd tricked her by asking her to watch Judith before she knew why. Luckily the kid was way too adorable for Carol to feel angry while being around.

Daryl hadn't gone on the run, but she didn't see him most of the afternoon. She wondered what he was up to, but felt silly, knowing they didn't need to be together all the time anyway. That night most everyone was hanging out in the common room together. Carol decided to stay a little longer, engrossed in a competitive game of Scrabble with Tara and Michonne, even when Daryl took off for the night. In the end Tara beat them with the word 'QI' which landed the Q on a triple word score and had a letter I in both directions earning 66 points.

After the game she excused herself and went to bed. When Carol entered her room Daryl was waiting for her. She was surprised to see him there, but after everything that had happened the last few days she was certainly glad to have him waiting. She hoped he was planning to stay. They could at least sleep together and feel some intimacy that way.

Daryl wandered over and placed his hands on her hips, then leaned in and lightly sucked on her neck. "What are you doing?" Carol sighed. "I told you before it's too risky. We can't. Please stop."

"Hear me out," Daryl replied, releasing her. Carol moved to her bed to put some distance between them. Even the tiny encounter had her hormones raging. "The virus is in your bodily fluids and has to enter my bloodstream to infect me, right?" Carol nodded. "So it's like HIV."

"I guess," Carol shrugged. She didn't know a lot about HIV and AIDS.

"Merle had a junkie buddy that was HIV positive," Daryl said, sitting down. "He still had sex with his girlfriend." Carol listened curiously. Daryl didn't often say much about his past or people from his past. And he certainly didn't often talk about other's sex life. "I went to see Glenn earlier. And…" Daryl pulled something out of his pocket. "He's running low. Gonna have to do a run and find more, but… I have two for now."

Carol looked at the packets in his hand and then up at Daryl. "You actually went to Glenn?" She knew that Daryl and Glenn were close, but it just wasn't like him to broach his sex life with Glenn, in any manner. Daryl was way too shy for that.

"Please don't think it's just the sex," Daryl started, looking embarrassed. "I ain't like that." He searched her eyes. "When you said earlier it's like an escape and you need that right now," he shrugged. "I wanted to give it to you. I wanted you to be able to do what you want, without worrying." He chewed his lip. "I mean, we don't have to," he set the condoms down. "But if you want to, option's there."

Carol picked up the foil wrappers and tore them apart on the perforated line. She set one back down and studied the other in her hand. "I feel really stupid right now," she said.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"This option," she replied, holding up the packet. "Never even crossed my mind. I could have spared you and asked Maggie, but I just never thought…"

"Sometimes I come up with good ideas," Daryl said, giving her a smile that made her heart flutter.

"So," Carol started, batting her eyelashes. "I have a deal to make. I am willing to use these… but only if I get to go on the run to get more."

"Sexual bribery?" Daryl asked. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Works every time."


	11. Chapter 11

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked, taking a seat beside Carol on her bed, ending his advances. The flirty smile was gone from her lips and there was something different there. Something a bit apprehensive. She put a smile back on her face, but he knew it was forced. "We ain't gotta do this now," he said gently. "And," he sighed. "I'll still let you come on the run." Daryl needed her to know he wouldn't force her if she wasn't ready.

"No, I want to. I do," she looked up at him. "It's just…" Her voice trailed off.

"Just what?" Daryl prodded.

"I wonder what's next… For us." Daryl wasn't sure what she meant and gave her a confused look. "Our relationship," she continued. "Everyone knows we had sex. So are we just friends who have sex? Or something else? Does anything actually change? Will things be different?"

Daryl nodded. "Course things'll be different."

"How?" Carol asked. "It's not like we have to worry about getting married and whether or not to share a bank account."

Daryl honestly hadn't thought about what she was suggesting, but she was right. It was a very different world to be a couple. It wouldn't be like anything either of them had experience in the past - it was all new. But people did it. It happened. Maggie and Glenn had made it work. Rosita and Abraham. They had both met after the turn and seemed to be doing just fine.

"How about one step at a time?" Daryl asked, hoping the suggestion wouldn't upset her. "I know this ain't the kind of world where you can take things slow anymore, but we have - unintentionally maybe," he added with a little smile. "We don't have to decide how it's all gonna work tonight… tomorrow… or even next week. Maybe we'll figure it out in the morning. Maybe we ain't gonna figure it out for months… But does it really matter?"

Carol took a deep breath. "I guess not," she said. There was no conviction in her voice though and Daryl knew she needed something…

He had an idea. It wasn't much, but maybe it was enough for right then. "I'll be right back," he said, jumping up.

Daryl went to his room and grabbed a couple things and then returned, shutting and locking her door behind him. He held up his pillow and blanket. "I just brought these for now… I can take them back in the morning, or I can bring the rest… up to you."

Carol smiled. It was a true, genuine smile, that made his heart swell in his chest. She moved her pillow over and made room for his, "I would like it if your pillow stayed there as long we're living here." She held out her hand, "Come here." Daryl dropped his blanket to the floor and put his hand into hers. Carol pulled him into bed and into her arms. She started things slow, touching his cheek and kissing him, very softly. It felt so comfortable that Daryl had a hard time believing they really weren't very familiar with each other intimately. He'd never been very good at the romantic stuff, foreplay, all the buildup. He'd always found it very awkward and he often felt like he was doing everything wrong. Really, he'd never been a huge fan of kissing at all. Of course he liked sex, who didn't? But the little moments were never something he'd been fond of.

Clearly it had everything to do with his partner and how he felt about them because kissing her was amazing. No one had ever believed in him like Carol did. And it was the same when they were intimate. She believed in him, more than he would ever believe in himself. Even in that awkward moment where they had to stop to roll on the condom she made it easy by doing it for him. Instead of making him feel embarrassed it was actually really sexy watching her rip open the packet, place the condom on the tip and gently roll the latex down his dick. "Still can't believe I never thought of this," Carol muttered, shaking her head. Daryl laughed.

She lay back in bed and looked up at him as Daryl moved into position. Carol reached up and brushed his hair to the side. It instantly fell back and she brushed it away again with a beautiful smile. When the wisp fell back over his eyes once more she gave up, but the smile remained. "I love you," Carol whispered.

"Love you too," he replied before capturing her lips and slipping into her at the same time. She moaned into his mouth as Daryl pushed all the way in. The words still felt a bit strange coming off his tongue. Not because he didn't mean them, but because he'd felt them for so long but had never been able to say them to her. Yes, they felt strange, Daryl decided, but it was a good strange.

The condom was actually helpful for his worry of being premature like the first time they fucked. It still felt good. Not good - incredible. But the thin material took away the slightest amount of sensation - just enough to make him feel a bit more in control. Not much more though. She was too perfect. She made all the right sounds, all the right movements, said all the right things, touched him in all the right places and made his body feel all the right things. The build up was incredible, but the release was like nothing else. Carol cried out while he was lost in those few seconds of bliss and somehow it made the feeling even more intense to know she was experiencing something similar.

Daryl was pretty sure he'd never slept as good as he did that night with her body curled around him. When he woke in the morning he eyed the second condom sitting on the dresser beside him and felt his dick stirring. God how he would love to fuck her again. But he decided it was best to wait. It sucked that their sex life, for the time being, would depend on the availability of rubbers, but he knew for Carol's own peace of mind it had to be that way. Daryl felt very comfortable that he was immune after the transfusion. He knew nothing about science, nothing about blood types and diseases… but he had a great instinct and trusted his gut completely. It was what made him a good hunter and tracker, it was what had helped him survive this long - in his past life and in this new world. His intuition told him he was safe and Daryl believed he was. But Carol wouldn't risk his life and he would respect that.

So instead of reaching for the packet and wrapping his ever growing hard on, Daryl leaned over and kissed her forehead, then threw on enough clothes to walk down the hall and shower while she slept. He made sure the water was cold and focussed on things that were far from arousing.

Once he was showered and dressed he popped his head back into Carol's room, soon to be their room, and noticed she was gone. He headed downstairs and saw that everyone was gathering around a whiteboard, snacking on their breakfast.

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked the first person he came to.

"Eugene is ready to talk to us all about his ideas," Tyreese explained, giving Daryl a look that likely mirrored his own expression of slight annoyance, slight curiosity. Daryl did want to hear what the man had to say, but at the same time he could only tolerate so much of Eugene and worried he'd want to punch him about 30 seconds in.

Apparently Daryl was the last to arrive and they were waiting for him to start. "Morning sunshine," Rick teased him. Daryl blushed and was thankful he hadn't decided to jerk off in the shower and took even longer to arrive. He caught Carol's eye as he took a seat on the couch beside Michonne, in the last available spot. She quickly looked away, fighting off a smile as he did the same.

Daryl tried to focus and listen to what Eugene was saying when he started to talk, but he kept glancing in her direction and having flashes of the night before. Her breasts in his hands, her fingertips sliding up and down his back, the taste of her kiss... Daryl heard the word saliva and snapped to attention, wondering if people knew what he'd been thinking about. But it turned out it was just Eugene explaining to the others what he'd already told them earlier. He heard his name mentioned a few times and perked up, but was still having difficulty getting his mind off how sexy her legs were and how good her ass felt in his hands.

When Eugene got to the point that he seemed to be wrapping up Daryl decided he should listen. For one, if he kept thinking about Carol he was gonna end up with an embarrassing situation in his pants, and secondly, he realized that most of what was being said directly involved Carol and he should be on guard in case he needed to step in. "So I have come up with a list of questions that we need to get to the bottom of, somehow." Eugene started to write things on the board, "One, are Carol, Daryl, and Morgan all immune to future bites? And furthermore, will they still turn after death? Or are they immune to that as well?"

"I don't think we want to find out any of those things," Michonne muttered quietly, so only Daryl and possibly Carl on the other side would hear.

"Two, what makes Carol different? And are there others like her?" Eugene scribbled the squeaky marker across the board.

"Three, we know Carol's blood can bring someone back from a bite, and we know her blood can save someone who was infected by her, but could her blood be used to immunize an uninfected person?" Daryl listened and took a quick peek at Carol's face. She wasn't revealing anything, though her posture seemed quite tense.

"Four," Eugene continued. "Could we also use Daryl and Morgan's blood to immunize people now? If we're able to sort out everyone's blood type." That was one Daryl hadn't actually considered for some reason. But how would they know for sure anyway?

"Five, are Daryl and Morgan able to transmit the virus through bodily fluids like we know Carol is?" Daryl glared at him. Once again, how exactly were they going to figure that out, short of one of them spitting in someone's cut or… Well, it was out of the question for Daryl because the only woman he wanted was already infected, but perhaps Morgan would feel amorous one day with someone… "Can anyone think of any other major questions I might have missed?"

"What about children, born after this thing started," Tyreese spoke up, glancing towards Judith. "Maybe she's safe," he suggested in a tone that said he hoped to hell it was true. Tyreese had grown close to the baby in the week or so he looked after her with Carol and the girls. He'd become a doting uncle of sorts. Eugene scribbled the question on the board, extending the list.

"Anything else?" Eugene asked, capping the marker. Daryl looked around and saw people shrugging and shaking their heads.

"Ya know, this is all great to chat and gather information… but looking at that list of questions… how can we possibly get to the bottom of any of them, without things happening by chance… bad things," Maggie spoke up. "I respect you wanting to figure things out," she said to Eugene. "But I just don't see how you can."

Eugene gave her a stare, with an air of superiority that rubbed Daryl the wrong way. Had it been directed in his direction, or even Carol's he might have wiped the look right off Eugene's face. "Well, before everyone leaves here we're having a vote," Eugene announced in response.

"A vote? What the fuck for?" Daryl asked, speaking for the first time. He was worrying Eugene had some stupid idea about experimenting with Carol that he was going to have to shoot down.

"Well the way I see it, what we really need to know is if the rest of us can be immunized," he paused and looked around the room. "I'm going to be the guinea pig," Eugene added. Daryl wasn't liking the sound of it already, even if it didn't sound like it would endanger Carol.

Eugene looked very sure of his idea, but the bad feeling in Daryl's stomach was getting worse. "I need you guys to vote on whether I'm going to transfuse myself with Morgan's blood, or wait a few weeks until she can give more and transfuse with Carol's."

"But still, what's that going to prove?" Tara piped up, sounding very anxious. "Unless you get bit, we're never going to know."

"I know," Eugene replied. "That's why I'm going to get bit on purpose, after the transfusion to see if it worked."

The room erupted with loud angry voices instantly. Daryl's gut feeling had been right once again. This was bad. Eugene was planning to risk his life to figure this thing out. Carol, a voice screamed in his head. He quickly scanned the room, trying to find her through the flailing arms and all the agitated people. Finally he spotted her near the back of the room, sitting down and leaning against the wall. His heart sank at the look on her face. At least she wasn't trying to run this time, he thought, weaving his way through the group to take a seat beside her. He did the only thing he could think of to help, he reached for her hand and they sat together, watching the chaos in silence.


	12. Chapter 12

"Jesus, what is going on with us?" Carol sighed, clutching tightly to Daryl's hand. "Have we all gone completely insane?" She leaned a little in his direction, just needing to feel that tiny nbit more support. They were quietly talking, watching the shitstorm happening in front of them. It was hard to make out what any one person was saying because everyone seemed to be talking at once.

Finally Abraham yelled loud enough to calm the group down but immediately started telling Eugene how fucking stupid his plan was while everyone listened. Eugene interrupted. "I need to do this. It's a way I can contribute. Make up for the things I've done. If it works and I live, great. If it doesn't, at least you'll know."

"Come on," Abraham sighed. "We're over that shit now. You're a member of the team... A member of this family. You're not risking your life."

Several others expressed agreement with Abe's words. "There's something you don't know... Something I did. Once you hear, you might be quite willing to let the walkers bite me," Eugene had a look of extreme guilt.

"Eugene, don't..." Tara stood with deep concern and fear etched on her face.

"What the fuck?" Daryl whispered. Carol shrugged. She had no idea what was going on.

Eugene closed his eyes and started to rapidly blurt out his admission, as if talking faster was somehow helping him get everything out. "I crushed up glass and put it in the gas tank of the bus when we left the church. It was just supposed to keep us from getting far. Didn't mean for the rest to happen. The crash... I'm sorry." When he finished his eyes flew open and he waited for the explosion.

Carol's eyes widened as Tara put herself between Abe and Eugene in a protective stance. And it all started again. Abe, Glenn, Maggie and Rosita were yelling at Eugene and apparently Tara as well. "You knew?" she heard Maggie hiss at the other young brunette. Rick, Michonne, Tyreese and the others looked about as confused as Carol felt herself. But they got into the mix as peacekeepers before long.

"You got any idea what the fuck they're going on about now?" Daryl asked, leaning to talk into her ear over the yelling.

"No clue," Carol shook her head. "Come on," she said, tugging at his hand as she got up. She couldn't take another second of the insanity.

"Where are we goin'?" Daryl asked, getting to his feet.

"Remember that run you promised to take me on? We're going. Now." Carol started towards the door but saw Daryl hesitate. "Come on. We'll probably be back before they even finish yelling." She saw Daryl looking over at the group and wondered what he was doing. Carol watched as Daryl caught Rick's eye, motioned towards Carol and then the door. Rick nodded and finally Daryl started to move.

"Didn't think it was fair to just take off without letting anyone know," Daryl explained, giving her a cautious look, clearly worried he might have pissed her off.

"It's fine, you're right," Carol sighed. She knew in her heart it was wrong to just take off and she was okay with the way Daryl handled it. If he'd taken the time to clear it with Rick that would have pissed her off, for sure.

Daryl started towards one of their vehicles. "No, let's just walk," Carol said, stopping him. "Pharmacy's not that far. From what I heard it's barely been touched other than what we've taken." He nodded and strapped his crossbow back on that he'd removed to get in the car.

The store was about 4 blocks away. Not huge city blocks like Atlanta, just small-town ones. Carol figured they would easily be there in less than 10 minutes. What she didn't plan for was all the walker distractions. They seemed to be out in full force, but luckily they weren't herding at first, just wandering around alone or in tiny groups.

Or course, as they got closer and started to get noticed more and more started coming. "Guess my idea of a leisurely stroll wasn't a great plan, huh?" Carol grunted as she took down a female walker, and yanked her knife free.

"Yeah, probably not," Daryl replied firing off a shot. He retrieved the bolt from the fallen body and looked behind them. "They're building up. Ready to make a run for it?"

Less than a block, surely she could make it that far. Carol nodded and they both took off. Her legs felt sluggish but she was able to keep up for a little while. She could see the entrance to the pharmacy, they were close, but with each step the blackness behind her eyes was growing. Carol was dizzy. Just a few more steps, she encouraged herself. But... It... Was... Just... Too... Much. Carol heard herself call out Daryl's name as her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. She felt a bit of pain and then nothing. Blackness.

"Carol, Carol... Wake up..." She could hear a voice calling her but it seemed so far away. Everything was foggy but she remembered dreaming about something, a loud rushing sound, a train maybe? An airplane? It was loud. "Carol? Carol?" She opened her eyes and tried to focus. "Oh thank fucking Christ," said the voice.

Carol groaned. Her head was pounding. "You know," she got out. "You really need to stop taking the Lord's name in vain... He might have it out for you."

"Ha," Daryl chuckled. His face relaxed but Carol could still see the remnants of fear in his eyes. "You're the one who passed out and almost got eaten. Had to carry you the rest of the way."

"See, my point exactly," she joked, attempting to sit up. She was never one to dwell on her own issues when someone she cared about was upset. Carol hated seeing him worry so she always did her best to lighten the mood. Even after cracking a smile Daryl still looked concerned. "Stop, I'm fine now," Carol assured him. She may have been lying a bit. She felt dizzy again, just sitting up and her cheek hurt. She went to touch it.

"Don't," Daryl grabbed her hand. "You did quite the epic face plant. We gotta clean that up."

"Well, it seems we've come to the right place," Carol replied dryly. She looked around. The pharmacy looked barely touched. What a strange town, she thought. So many places like this that hadn't been looted at all. Likely why there's so many walkers, she realized. No one left to do the looting. Daryl had carried her to the back of the large store, far away from the front entrance. From where she was sitting she couldn't even see where they'd come in, but she assumed Daryl had locked them safely inside. 

Daryl gathered some first aid supplies from a few aisles over and returned. "You, uh, you want me to try? Or do you want..."

There had to be a mirror around somewhere, and Carol knew she could have herself patched up in no time. But... It could be kinda fun to watch him play doctor with her face. "No, go ahead," she said sweetly. "Get a big wad of gauze or paper towel and pour some peroxide on the scrape first. It'll pull the dirt out."

Daryl fumbled around with the supplies and eventually ended up with a clump of paper towels and a bottle of peroxide. He took the cap off, looked at the bottle, looked at her face, then back at the bottle. Carol smile and took the bottle, picked up the cap and filled it with peroxide, then handed it to him. She grabbed his hand with the wadded up paper towel and held it to her cheek below the scrape. Carol tilted her face so the peroxide would run to the paper towels and waited for him to pour.

"It hurt?" He asked as the liquid touched her face and was likely bubbling.

"Tiny sting in the deep scratches but nothing major," Carol shrugged. "Keep doing it until the bubbling slows. Dab it really lightly after each cap," she instructed him.

Daryl repeated the process a few more times. "Okay, I think it's good now. You want me to cover it with gauze or something?"

Carol shook her head. "Maybe a dab of that antibiotic ointment but that's all. Best to let the air get to it, let it scab over." Daryl stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"You can't seem to catch a break," he muttered.

"Been a rough week," Carol smiled. "Ouch." Her freshly cleaned out scrapes stung when her face wrinkled.

"I'll give you a full month," Daryl replied. He was right. From the banishment to losing the girls to the van falling off the bridge, getting hit by a car, losing Beth, getting bit, almost losing Daryl... It had been one hell of an emotional and physical ride. And here she was again, passing out and scraping up her face, almost getting attacked by walkers...

"It's gonna get better," Carol replied. "It's gotta."

"Yeah, well you ain't giving anymore of your blood anytime soon," Daryl grumbled protectively. They both knew the reason she passed out was because she was weak from two transfusions so close together, especially after all the other physical things her body had been through.

"The second transfusion was non-negotiable," Carol said, giving him a look. "Come on, let's check this place out. I'm a bit hungry, any chance there's something edible around here?"

Daryl helped her to her feet and the blackness started to swirl. "Hey, maybe you should just sit there a while longer," he suggested, holding her against him in this new protective way she was really going to have to get used to. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the sentiment. Daryl had always been protective of her. But it was beyond that, almost possessive.

Carol took a deep breath and waited for the dizziness to subside. "Nope, I'm okay," she said. "Promise. I'm sure some food will help." A bag of stale pretzels and a granola bar later she really was feeling better. They even found a six pack of expensive imported water to drink. It was very odd the vast collection of things you could find in a pharmacy. She decided to wander a bit more and headed down the aisle towards the front. "Oh God," she whispered when she saw the entrance. "Daryl, c'mere, look," she called out. There were walkers completely swarming the entrance.

"Fuck," he muttered, looking down the aisle. "Was hopin' they'd take off after a few minutes."

"We can't get out," Carol stated the obvious. "Unless there's another entrance somewhere…" They quickly scanned the store for another way out. There was only one other door and it was locked with a chain and thick pad lock. "Is there anything we can cut it with?" Carol asked, knowing the answer. She was feeling trapped and panic was rising.

"Hey, relax," Daryl said, touching her shoulder. "Rick knows we left. If we ain't back in a few hours someone will come." Carol sighed and leaned back against him. "And if they don't come, we spend the night and figure it out in the morning."

"When did you become the voice of reason?" Carol asked, turning to face him.

"Mmm, no idea," Daryl shrugged. "You can have it back any time."

"Nah, looks good on you," Carol smiled. "Shit. Ouch." She winced. "Come on, I need a distraction, let's go find what we came here for." They wandered the aisles until they found the 'family planning' section. "Wow, who knew there were so many to choose from?" she muttered, looking at a wide variety of brands, styles and sizes. "Got a preference?" Carol asked, giving him a little smirk.

"Used to just use those ones outta the machines in the men's bathroom," Daryl grunted. "Or steal some from Merle." Somehow that didn't surprise her. She couldn't imagine Daryl walking into a pharmacy and purchasing a box of condoms.

"Well…" Carol said, grabbing a bunch of boxes off the shelf. "We have thin, ultra thin, extra lube, ribbed, and ohhh, a variety pack of flavours." She held them up. "Take your pick." Daryl reached out and grabbed one and quickly tossed it into the backpack they'd found earlier. Carol was certain she caught just the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks.

She went to put the others back but Daryl stopped her. He grabbed another and tossed it into the bag. Then another and another until they were all gone. "They got like a huge economy pack or somethin'?" he asked, scanning the shelf. Carol bit her lip to keep from laughing because for one it would hurt and secondly she didn't want to embarrass him. Daryl didn't find what he was looking for so he grabbed another couple boxes and tossed them in. "Should do for a while," he mumbled.

"Yeah like 8 years," she snorted. Carol couldn't resist, but it made him give her an adorable shy smile, so the pain from laughing was well worth it.

After wandering around a while, taking a mental stock of inventory incase they needed to come back for anything, they sat down on the floor. Daryl leaned back against the wall and Carol sat between his legs. He immediately reached for her shoulders and started to rub them. "So, what's your vote gonna be… When we get back," Carol asked, leaning back against his chest, sighing at how amazing his hands felt.

"I ain't voting," Daryl replied. "Thought about voting for Morgan's blood. Keep you outta it all. But I ain't so confident it'll work… I don't want to be part of a choice that ends a man's life." Carol wasn't surprised at all by his decision. Daryl had one of the biggest hearts of anyone she'd ever met. He had enough on his conscience already. Daryl would always blame himself for not finding Sophia. For not saving Hershel. And most recently Beth. None were his fault, but they all weighed on him. "You?" he asked, letting go of her shoulders.

"Though I would run something by you, since we're a team now," Carol said, shifting to face him. She explained her idea to Daryl.

"You sure this is what you want?" he asked gently.

"I think it's best for everyone," Carol nodded.

"Then I'll support ya," Daryl replied with a little nod of the head. The way he was looking at her, his eyes so intense and full of love… It made Carol want him, badly. "What ya say we try one of those ribbed ones," she said, biting her lip and giving her best flirty look.

"Ain't gotta ask me twice," Daryl replied, leaning forward and kissing her lips. Carol shifted again and moved to straddle his lap as she delved her tongue into his warm mouth. Daryl grabbed her ass and pulled her down tightly against his groin area. She let her body melt against his and gave herself completely. She was so incredibly turned on even the fact that the intense kissing was stinging her face something fierce was the furthest thing from her mind.

Suddenly they heard a thump coming from the front. Carol scrambled out of his lap and stood to look. "Fuck," she hissed. "Your BFF has the worst timing."

Daryl stood beside her. "Cock blocked by Officer Friendly," he mumbled sadly.

Carol started to snicker. "Owwwww," she whined. "Don't make me laugh." Daryl quickly kissed her forehead.

"Let's get the fuck outta here," Daryl said. "Can't forget these," he picked up the backpack filled with boxes of condoms. No, they couldn't forget those, Carol thought. She planned on burning one as soon as possible.


	13. Chapter 13

"Jesus, Carol. What happened?" Glenn asked, once the 4 of them were safe in the car, driving a loop out of town, drawing walkers out of their path so they could head back to the firehall.

"Tripped and fell," she lied, not wanting anyone besides Daryl to know that she was still a bit weak. She felt a lot better and Carol was sure she would be fine with normal day to day activities. It was just trying to run that had been too much. "We cleaned it out, should be healed up in a few days."

"Why didn't you take a car?" Rick asked. His tone was mostly concern and curiosity more than anything else.

Carol and Daryl shared a look. "My fault," she spoke up. "I just needed to get away from all that, clear my head… I wanted to walk." Rick caught her eye in the rearview mirror and she stared him straight back. He was doing the cop thing he always did to check if he was being lied to. Carol knew it didn't mean anything, it was just Rick. Just a natural reflex for him. "So what was decided?" she asked, changing the subject before they started asking more questions, like what was in the bag that Daryl was carrying.

Glenn chuckled. "After all that… a couple people refused to vote and it ended up a fucking tie."

"Guess it's up to the two of you," Rick said, looking in the mirror again.

"I ain't votin'" Daryl replied quickly. Even if the tie hadn't set things up perfectly for Carol's plan - Daryl still wouldn't have been voting. "I don't want anything to do with this crazy shit."

"I felt like that at first," Glenn admitted. "But I know Eugene and he's gonna find a way to do this, whether we support him or not. It's gonna eat at him until he does something stupid." Carol got the sense that Glenn was right. Eugene was determined to help and he knew his mind was his best weapon. He would outsmart them somewhere along the line and it would be solely on his terms. "I voted for Carol's blood. Sorry," Glenn added, turning to give her an apologetic look. "I just think it's his best chance to actually survive this thing." Carol nodded. She agreed, which is what led her to the decision she'd made.

"I'll talk to him when we get back," Carol said, leaning against the seat with a sigh. Once again it was all on her shoulders. The decision lay solely in her hands. If she refused to vote it would remain a tie and then what? If she did vote she was essentially making the decision on her own. But that was the plan anyway. Carol had already decided she was making a huge decision on behalf of the group. It was getting close though, and starting to get scarier than she was expecting.

When the car pulled up to the fire hall they all climbed out in the dark. By the time Rick and Glenn arrived and managed to clear enough walkers for them to get out most of the day had passed. Daryl immediately came around and touched her arm. "You sure you're ok with this?" he whispered, giving her a look of deep concern. "You don't have to do it. You don't have to vote at all."

"It's the right thing to do," Carol said, giving him a confident look.

"You want me to come with you?" Daryl offered.

Carol smiled at him. "No, I'm okay." She glanced around making sure Rick and Glenn wouldn't hear and leaned in close to whisper, "Take the bag to our room. Start moving your stuff in and wait for me. I think I'm gonna need a good stress relieving activity when I get there."

"Done," Daryl replied, slinging the bag over his shoulder with his crossbow. "See you soon."

"Where is he?" Carol asked, walking inside where several group members were lingering. Eugene was not one of them.

"Little fucker is probably in his room pouting," Abe snarled. He was obviously back in full on Eugene-hate mode.

"Plotting is more like it," Rosita corrected him. "Don't underestimate him," she added, looking at Abe, though the comment was likely directed towards the entire group.

"What about Tara?" Carol asked, concerned for the young woman. "Is she okay?" Carol understood the need to keep things to yourself sometimes, to protect others. She respected the young woman's loyalty to her friend, though she knew the group would have trust issues for a while.

"She's fine," Glenn answered. "Maggie was with her before Rick and I left."

"Still is," Rosita added.

"I'd like to talk to her," Carol stated. "But I need to speak with Eugene first." She headed for the steps, where Michonne was seated, listening in her usual quiet, reflective way.

"Glad you're safe," Michonne said quietly, looking up and smiling as Carol started up the steps. Carol touched her shoulder as she passed in a silent thank you. By the time she got to the top of the stairs she was feeling a bit woozy, but nothing major. She stopped for a second when she was out of sight of the others, until the dizziness subsided and then continued on to Eugene's room.

Carol knocked on the door, "Hey, open up. It's me."

"It's unlocked," came a voice from inside. Carol pushed open the door and entered. There were books and papers scattered everywhere and he was furiously scribbling something. The look of determination on his face was actually inspiring. It made Carol feel better about her decision, but it also made her heart hurt. Eugene was a family member. They weren't that close, but if he lived, someday they would be, as they got to know each other better. Carol didn't want him to die. But the important thing - the thing that made her decision feel right - was that Eugene was sacrificing himself to help the group. Whatever his reasons or motives were besides the point. In the end, all that mattered was that he was taking a huge risk for a chance to make things better for everyone else. "Heard the vote was tied," she said, finding an empty spot on his dresser and boosting herself up to sit, directly across from him. The dizziness returned again with the exertion and Carol sucked in a long deep breath.

"You okay?" Eugene asked. She'd heard that a lot lately. Not that she could blame anyone with all her recent trials and tribulations.

"I'm fine," Carol insisted.

Eugene nodded. "Yeah, it was a tie. So it's up to you and Daryl…"

"Daryl isn't voting," Carol said, meeting his eye. They both knew exactly what that meant. They stared at each other for a few seconds in a moment of shared respect. "I'm gonna make you a deal," Carol said, breaking the silence. "I planned this before I knew the vote was a tie," she explained. "I would have convinced you, whether it was truly left in my hands or not. Just wanted that to be clear." Her tone was stern.

"It's perfectly clear ma'am," Eugene replied.

"This is my offer. You will use my blood for the transfusion. After a few days with it in your system we will find a way to get you bit with the least damage possible," Carol began. "I'm not sure how, but we'll have time to figure it out because I can't give blood again for a few weeks." Eugene nodded, he understood that. "If you survive. If this works… I'll go. We'll all go."

Eugene looked stunned. "To Washington?"

"Yes. To Washington," Carol repeated. "If my blood can really make other people immune then I have to do what I can to help. This group - this family - is always first. No matter what, they're saved first. And then… we'll see what happens."

"Thank you," Eugene said. There was a hint of emotion in his voice that Carol had never heard from him before. She realized that this was something he needed to do and she couldn't find any fault in that kind of determination.

Carol slipped down off the dresser and moved closer to him. She reached out and placed her hand over his in a gesture of comfort. "You're brave Eugene. Bravery doesn't always have to involve stabbing walkers or going out there and fighting in that awful world. You're trying to save people too, just like Rick, Daryl, Glenn... Just like Abraham…" Abe's name stuck a chord and Eugene looked at her. Carol could tell he was worried about their friendship after his latest admission. "Listen to me and trust what I'm telling you," Carol spoke sternly again, wanting to be absolutely sure Eugene wouldn't take her words lightly. "He's not just mad about whatever you did. He'll get over that. I promise you. He's scared he's going to lose a friend. Abe doesn't want you to die, none of us do." She squeezed his hand. "When this is over, whatever the outcome… he'll come around." Carol was confident that if Eugene were on his death bed Abe would be by his side. And if he survived they would work things out. She knew the alpha male type well.

"Carol? It's gonna work," he said.

"I think so too," she replied confidently, releasing his hand. "Get some sleep tonight, okay?" When she left Carol felt better. It was a done deal. They had a plan now. In a few weeks they would know, one way or the other. Carol hoped the rest of the group would be supportive of her terms with Eugene. She would find out in the morning. First she wanted to talk to Tara and then… all she wanted was to be alone with Daryl and forget about everything for the rest of the night.

She finally found Tara, sitting alone in the rec room. With the insanity of the day the others must have called it a night early. "Hey," she said, taking a seat on the couch beside her. "I just wanted to find you and tell you that I admire what you did. Protecting a friend, showing the utmost loyalty… you have my respect."

"What? You're shitting me right now?" Tara's face was filled with youthful excitement. Carol smiled. There was something special about Tara. Something the group needed. She was a big keg full of levity in a tiny package. "You have no idea what that means to me."

Carol felt her maternal instinct kick in and she reached out her arms, "C'mere." By the time Carol finally released her Tara looked like she was going to bust with excitement.

"This is totally embarrassing," she gushed. "But I have to tell you something." Carol waited, wondering what on earth she was about to say. "I'm a total fangirl for you. I just think you're the coolest. The way you saved us all at Terminus. The way you never let Rick tell you what to do. You're strong and I admire you so much. And… well… you're totally my girl crush. I mean, I know you're straight, Daryl… duh… but I can't help it."

It was Carol's turn to be shocked and a bit baffled. But she was flattered. She didn't understand it. But she definitely appreciated the sentiment. She hugged Tara again. "That might be the sweetest compliment I've got in a long time," she said gently. Carol wanted to make sure she didn't make Tara feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. She drew back. "You okay? Be honest."

"I'm fine. Promise. I'm just gonna stay here a little longer," she held up a comic book. "Carl finally started sharing them."

Carol was tired by the time she made it back up the steps to her door. But she didn't want Daryl to know. She needed to be with him. She needed to escape for a little while and just be blissful and content. Carol turned the knob and entered the room.

Daryl didn't have a lot of belongings, none of them really did. But the room looked fuller, especially with him laying in bed looking at a magazine. He was in their bed, not hers, not his, theirs. He was waiting for her there because that's where he was supposed to be.

He sat up when she walked in. Carol shut the door and locked it, then sighed. Finally, they were alone. Everything else was shut out. "How'd that go?" Daryl asked. Carol shook her head and walked over to him, placing her knees on either side of his legs, straddling his body and sinking into his lap.

"Can we talk about it in the morning? I just wanna…" Daryl silenced her with a kiss. He understood.

"So I ain't your typical flowers and candles kinda romantic," Daryl said, slipping out from under her. "But, I did pick up a couple of things at the pharmacy when you weren't lookin."

Carol flopped onto her side on the bed with a smile. No, Daryl wasn't a typical romantic, but he was hers. And she couldn't wait to see what surprises he had in store, no matter what they were.


	14. Chapter 14

Carol was sitting quietly with a needle in her arm as the blood flowed out. They had waited 5 weeks. She believed she would have been fine earlier, but the dizziness when she exerted herself too much stuck around longer than she'd hoped, so they pushed it one more week to be safe.

Daryl was hovering. Sometimes it was annoying, but right then it was cute. Carol looked at him and her mind drifted back to the night she'd struck a deal with Eugene. It was an incredibly stressful decision then, and even weeks later she had moments where she questioned her choice.

The few moments when she didn't think about it at all were those times alone with Daryl. He was her escape mechanism, just like he'd been that very night. Carol closed her eyes and took a trip back in her mind...

_Daryl picked up his backpack. "I found something... You love chocolate, right? What was it you said your favourite kind was again?"_

_Carol sat up, her mouth starting to water instantly. "Did you say chocolate? Screw candles and rose petals... Hershey. Hershey bars are my favourite. Any kind really," she continued. "But if there's a cookies and cream bar in that bag... We are soul mates."_

_"Ohhhh, so close," Daryl said, pulling out a candy bar. "Hershey with almond." Carol would get over the soul mates comment, the second the sweet chocolate was in her mouth. "Maybe next time," Daryl shrugged, holding it out to her._

_Carol snatched it and tore it open. The first bite and all subsequent ones were pretty much orgasmic. By the time she was done the candy bar she noticed Daryl was squirming. Likely from all the moans and sighs she made as she ate. "Remind me to find you more chocolate," Daryl mumbled, giving her one of his lopsided grins. _

_She flung the wrapper and gave him her best come hither look. Daryl was on her in an instant. He was as hungry for her as she'd been for the chocolate. And Carol was ready to eat him up too. Things got so heated and intense they almost forgot protection, which momentarily freaked her out. But the second Daryl pushed inside her… everything else was forgotten. It was wild and passionate, maybe a bit loud for close quarters, but with Abraham and Rosita, and Glenn and Maggie… people were used to it. _

_Carol fell asleep quickly afterwards and actually slept in the next morning. When she woke Daryl was already gone. She sat up in bed and swung her feet over the edge, stretching and yawning, when she noticed something. Sitting on the little table beside her bed was another chocolate bar. Carol smiled when she picked it up and looked at the wrapper: Hershey's Cookies and Cream. _

"All done," Maggie announced when the bag was full. Eugene was already set up, ready for the transfusion and Daryl was waiting with juice and a pack of cookies to hand her. Carol took them and dutifully ate the cookies and sipped at the juice box. She knew she would have to take it easy for a couple days at least, which she hated, particularly now that she'd just started to feel normal again. Maybe this time won't be so bad, Carol thought.

They made sure to transfuse the blood slowly into Eugene. It took so long Carol actually went for a nap, came back and he still wasn't finished. "Feeling okay?" Carol asked, taking a seat beside him.

"Yes. How are you?" he asked politely. Eugene was still a little awkward around her, which was actually kind of empowering. He saw her as a leader - someone to look up to - and even though he had this air of conceit about his IQ, Carol took his awkwardness in her presence as a sign of respect.

"I'm okay. I think we should decide how many days to wait, to make sure the blood has a chance to… do whatever it needs to do," Carol suggested.

"Don't think we need to wait too long," Eugene replied. "Maybe a full 24 hours just to be safe, but look how fast it worked for Daryl and Morgan."

"Fair enough," Carol agreed. "Guess we should start figuring out how we're gonna do the bite part without too much damage."

"Done," Eugene stated. He reached for a piece of paper beside him with his free hand. "I drew this diagram. If we tie it up good and then put a rope here, in it's mouth, as soon as the walker breaks my skin someone can pull the rope and it should rip the top of it's head right off. Gotta stand and pull in the right direction to open its mouth of course, but I think it'll work." Carol looked at the drawing, impressed with Eugene's artistic skills. "Morgan and Daryl are gone to round one up for a practice run this afternoon."

"Practice?" Carol asked. She understood exactly why Morgan and Daryl had gone. And why they would be the ones that took care of the walker when it was time.

"Yeah, just a test with the rope idea to see what happens when they try to rip its mouth open," Eugene explained. "If it doesn't work I'll have to figure out a way to tweak things so it does."

Carol nodded. She looked around to ensure they were completely alone, then met Eugene's eye. "You scared?"

"Shitless, ma'am," he replied honestly.

"Good. You should be," Carol said seriously. "And Eugene," she added, standing up. "My name's Carol."

He nodded. "Got it. Carol."

Not long after her conversation with Eugene she heard a commotion as Daryl and Morgan returned so she went outside to see what was going on. The transfusion was almost over and Maggie had returned to stay with Eugene. They had brought back a small female walker, but she was putting up a damn good fight, even with her hands and feet tied. Carol watched Morgan work. She was very impressed with his handling skills. She worried when they first brought him back that he was too far gone, but day by day he'd seem to come back. And by that point he was well meshed with the group. Sometimes you just need to be around people, Carol thought. Being out there, all alone, for so long hadn't been good for him. But a few weeks with a big group and he'd somehow found both his sanity and humanity once again.

They set up the walker just like Eugene planned out, using pliers and other tools to hold the mouth open. Carol felt nothing for the squirming, hissing creature they were essentially torturing. But she noticed Tyreese wandered off. Her heart sank in that moment. She really thought with all they'd been through that he'd turned around. For a while he couldn't kill, not even walkers. But he'd been doing it for weeks so she assumed he was in a better state of mind by that point.

Carol wandered off after him. If he'd really left because he couldn't stand to watch Daryl and Morgan rip the head off a walker… they needed to talk about it. She found him in the Rec room. "Hey, you okay?" she asked gently.

"Oh yeah, course I am," Tyreese said, with a forced smile. "Just needed a little time to myself, that's all."

"Don't lie to me. It's me," she said, placing a hand on his arm and meeting his eye. "We've been through horrible, awful things together Tyreese. I know you. Talk to me."

Tyreese sighed and sunk into the couch. "It still bothers me Carol," he admitted. "I've been trying. I've been pretending it doesn't. I figured if I just keep doing it, kept killing things I would get used to it. But I can't get used to killing." When he met her eyes she could see both deep sadness and moisture starting. "I can't stand out there and watch that. I understand it and I support it. But I can't watch it."

"Promise me you can kill when you need to," Carol said nervously. "Promise me I don't have to worry about you defending yourself or defending others in an attack."

Tyreese nodded. "I don't want to die. I know I have to fight to live. And I care too much about everyone here to ever let my guard down. It's just hard. It gets to me."

"Are you gonna be okay when we head back out there?" Carol reached for his hand. "I made the deal with Eugene not knowing you were still like this. If you need more time… I can… I'll figure something out."

Tyreese shook his head. "I don't want others to know. Obviously a bit more time would be ideal, but how much is enough? A few more weeks? A few more months? A year? I just don't know."

"You know you can always talk to me, right? I'll always be here for you," Carol said gently, squeezing his hand.

"I know," he smiled at her and this time it was genuine. "I might just take you up on that." People knew what happened at the grove, but no one ever be able to feel what the two of them felt in the moment and afterwards. It was an unimaginable tragedy that would forever bond them. "Bring it on in here Queen Bitch," Tyreese said opening his arms.

"Queen Bitch?" Carol repeated, looking at him in surprise, before leaning in to his embrace. His hug was warm and secure.

"I didn't tell you about that?" Ty chuckled. She felt his body jiggle with laughter. "When Bob was on his death bed he told me that Gareth dude called you Queen Bitch. Apparently you left quite the impression on those Termites."

"Queen Bitch," Carol repeated again as she pulled back. "I like it."

"Hey," Tyreese said gently. "Thank you." Carol nodded. "And I don't mean just for today. I mean for every single day. For being there for me. For helping me get through all this. And for what you're doing now, for this group."

"I'm not doing anything anyone else wouldn't do," Carol retorted. She still couldn't get used to the attention.

"Maybe not," he shrugged. "But you're the one doing it and you deserve to know how much that means to me. To everyone."

"Thank you," she whispered. After a moment of quiet Carol stood. "Call it morbid curiosity, but I'm going to see how things went out there. You okay now?"

"Yeah. Just gonna stay right here for a bit," Tyreese replied, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"Understood," Carol replied, waving as she left.

When she got back outside the walker was dead on the ground with the top half of her head ripped off. People looked pleased so Carol assumed Eugene's plan had worked. "How'd it go?" she asked Michonne.

"Almost too perfect," she admitted. "It'll be different when the walker actually has to bite Eugene, but if it goes as well as it did today… should be good."

Carol hung around a bit longer and watched Eugene going over all the finer details with Daryl, Rick and Morgan. Eventually she got bored. She spotted Carl and walked over. "Hey Kiddo, I think you owe me a Chess rematch, you game?"

"Hell yeah," Carl replied. Carol shook her head and smiled. How can you possible give a kid trouble for cussing in a world like this? She spent the afternoon with Carl and then some time with Judith when she woke from her afternoon nap. When she saw Daryl headed upstairs covered in walker blood, she waited a few minutes and followed. She bet on the fact he was about to shower and snuck into the bathroom to wait.

He always took the first shower stall so she hid in the second. Carol heard him enter and lock the door. She heard the shower turn on and peeked out just in time to see him slip naked into the stall. Carol stripped off her clothes, waited a couple more minutes and snuck into the shower with him.

"Fuck," Daryl squeaked, spinning in surprise as she touched his back. "Oh, hey," he relaxed when he realized it was her. As if it would be anyone else, she thought in amusement. "What are you doing here?"

Sometimes she really wasn't sure if he was joking or if he was that dense. But she got quickly to the point and showed him exactly why she was there. Carol stepped closer and brushed back a stray wisp of wet hair from his eyes before moving to his lips and kissing him passionately. She pressed her body into his as the water washed over them. Daryl wrapped her in his arms, pulling her even tighter against him. Carol lay her head on his chest and just enjoyed being close for a minute.

"Tomorrow is the big day," Carol said, looking up at him. "I'm scared."

"Me too," Daryl admitted. It was all she needed to hear. Her brave and fearless Daryl was scared too, which meant her feelings were more than normal. Not much frightened her anymore, but what was happening the next day did. She didn't want Eugene to die. And the more she came to terms with the gift or perhaps curse she'd been given the more she just wanted it to work. If she had something that could keep her friends safe it was truly a miracle. The rest of the world… well, that would remain to be seen.

They couldn't do everything Carol wanted to do in the shower because she couldn't have grabbed protection and still surprised him. But they did enough to take her mind off everything else, at least for a little while. His mouth on her boobs, his hands slipping all over her body… Lifting her off her feet, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing her up against the wall while he plundered her mouth with his tongue, the moans as she stroked him, changing to panting as she pushed him closer and closer… And that final moment when she took him to the point of no return, gazing into his eyes as she made him come… It was all so beautiful. And in the world they lived in everyone needed something beautiful.

Carol didn't sleep well at all, even with Daryl holding her, snoring very softly. It was a sound that usually lulled her off to a peaceful sleep, but not that night. She didn't sleep until complete exhaustion took over and woke in the morning after what felt like no more than 10 minutes. The knot in her stomach was bigger than she thought possible. It was almost time. The moment of truth was so close.


	15. Chapter 15

"Owwwww. Holy shit. MOTHERFUCKING JESUS CHRIST. It huuuuuuuuurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts." Carol was trying really hard not to laugh as Eugene danced around. Carol knew exactly how much a bite hurt, and hers, even though it was likely far worse than Eugene's… didn't hurt that much.

"Stop moving for a second so I can see how bad it is," Rostita said, grabbing his arm. "Oh for fuck's sake Eugene, it's barely even bleeding."

Eugene glared at her. "It hurts," he stated.

In the grand scheme everything went very smoothly. They restrained the walker, secured the rope in it's mouth - just like the trial run. Daryl stood on a table and Morgan helped keep the walker as still as possible. Abraham and Rick each took hold of Eugene's arm and moved it to the walkers mouth. As soon as it made contact with Eugene's skin Daryl yanked on the rope. It pulled the walker's mouth right open and he kept pulling and pulling until it ripped the top of the head off and the walker slumped over, dead.

Eugene looked petrified the entire time and she felt awful for him. But the hard part was over now and by the looks of the bite, he'd got off pretty easy - though he certainly wouldn't agree. He looked like he was going to cry. Or maybe pass out... "Someone get him a chair," Carol ordered, reaching for Eugene to steady him.

"I got him," Daryl said, taking over, knowing Carol wouldn't be able to hold Eugene up if he fainted even on a good day, let alone the day after giving blood. Rick brought over a chair and they guided Eugene into a sitting position.

"Do you think it's even deep enough?" Rosita asked, examining it again. She'd gone for ointment and gauze to cover up the bite and keep it from getting infected. Carol laughed when Eugene glared at Rosita again.

"It's deep enough," Sasha said confidently. "Bob's wasn't that deep and…" Her voice trailed off. Carol gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. It had been a while since they lost Bob, back at the church, but Sasha still wasn't over it. She put up a great front, but deep down she was hurting and Carol could see it in times like that.

Once Eugene looked a little less pale they moved him into the rec room where Carl had been waiting with Judith while everything was taking place. With the colorful words that had come from Eugene Carol was glad Judy was too far away to hear. Nothing like a hearing a baby babble 'motherfucker', Carol thought.

They got him set up on the couch and the waiting game began. The process started early in the afternoon, a full 24 hours after the transfusion had finished. People came in and out all day, but a few of them never left. Tara was glued to Eugene's side. Abraham was near the back of the room, pacing and sitting, pacing and sitting. Carol kept herself busy playing with Judith and challenging Carl to a couple game of chess. But other than to use the bathroom, Carol never left either. Daryl was in and out, likely keeping an eye on her like he always did. Rick was the same. He would return every half hour to check in.

Sometime after dark, when eyes were getting heavy, Tara suddenly jumped up. "Oh my God, I think he's dead," she said. Everyone was at Eugene's side in an instant. Carol was terrified. Please no, please no, she repeated over and over in her mind. Everything had gone so well. No sign of a fever all day long. How could this be happening? She had just got to the point where she was actually starting to believe maybe it had worked. Maybe she could actually help immunize them all eventually. And now this? Carol felt bile rising up in her throat.

All of a sudden Eugene's eyes flew open and Daryl reached for his knife. "Please don't stab me," Eugene spoke sleepily. "But it's after 2am and I'm really tired. So if you could all quit staring at me, I'd like to go back to sleep."

Tara flung herself at Eugene and hugged him and Carol felt her own knees go weak with relief. 12 hours. Eugene had survived 12 hours since the bite and there was a very, very good chance at that point that he was going to be just fine. It was overwhelming and she was exhausted. "Let's go to bed," she whispered to Daryl.

"Thought you'd never ask," he replied with a yawn.

When Carol woke the next morning the sense of dread she'd felt for weeks was gone. If anything had happened to Eugene during the night someone would have came and got them. Which meant that he was fine. He'd survived the bite. She noticed Daryl was watching her with a grin. She returned the smile, "Morning."

"You look happy," Daryl stated. "It's the first time in a really, really long time you actually look happy." He placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Let's go see what's happening."

Carol could feel the relief in the air as she walked down the stairs. Every face she saw looked happy, relaxed, almost peaceful. When Abe noticed her he started clapping and the others joined in. Carol glanced back at Daryl, who simply shrugged. "Ya think it's my new pants?" he cracked a joke. She laughed. Carol was in too good of a mood to even let the unwanted attention bother her.

"Well it worked," Abe announced. "How about a disgusting instant coffee toast to Carol," he held up his mug. "To Carol."

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as the rest echoed, "To Carol."

"I guess we start packing for DC soon, huh?" Abe said to the group.

"Hold up a minute… about that…" Carol interrupted. Everyone's eyes were on her. They all knew the deal she'd made with Eugene. They had all agreed it was the right call. They were all more than prepared to get back all the road… well, most of them. But they definitely all supported the decision. "We're not leaving just yet."

"But you said…" Eugene jumped in immediately, looking somewhat devastated.

Carol held up a hand to stop them. "We'll go. I made you a deal and I'll go through with it. But you need to give me two months…" She gave Tyreese a look and a very quick smile that no one else would catch.

"Two months?" Eugene snapped, echoed immediately by Abraham, Rick and Rosita.

"Yes, two months," Carol replied. Even Daryl was looking at her curiously by that point. She walked over to Michonne and plucked Judith out of her arms. "There's no way I'm going back out on the road until Judith…." she kissed the baby's soft hair. "And Carl are given transfusions."

The protesting ceased immediately and there were nods of agreement all around the room. Rick came over and gave her a warm hug. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

"Well I guess we have lots of time to start stocking up on supplies," Abraham commented. They already had a good stockpile, but the town was still full of treasures and anything they could add would be helpful for such a long trip. Eventually the crowd started to disperse and people began their daily tasks. Carol felt a sense of easiness as she looked around at her family. It was a great feeling.

"Hey," she said to Daryl. "Come on. We have somewhere to go." He shrugged and followed. She stopped beside Rick and touched his arm. "Daryl and I are going on a quick run. We'll be back in a couple hours. Don't worry," she added. "We'll take a vehicle this time."

"Where are we going?" Daryl asked, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"I like to finish what I started," Carol explained. "We've been to that canning factory twice now and still haven't had the chance to see if there are canned goods there."

"Third time's the charm," Daryl chuckled.

When they arrived Carol led the way into the building, knife drawn, searching for any sign of walkers. Daryl followed, covering behind. She slipped into the office they'd been in the first time. "Why we in here?" Daryl asked, watching her shove a chair against the door for added security.

"Told you. I like to finish what I start," she replied, sheathing the knife and moving closer to him. "We were in the middle of something when Morgan interrupted us..." Carol twisted her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes.

Daryl nodded, "Be more than happy to continue that, but come sit first, 'Kay?" He put the crossbow down on a table and they sat on the couch. "I shouldn't have agreed so easily for you to go on a run, after what happened last time, but... I couldn't bring myself to ruin your mood," he admitted. "But is it real? Are you really okay? It's been a long few months..."

"Daryl," she interrupted. "I promise you, I'm fine. I still grieve the girls and what Tyreese and I went through, I still grieve Beth, Bob, Hershel... And there isn't a day goes by that I don't think about Sophia. Lori... Andrea... T-Dog... Dale... Everyone we've lost along the way... They're a part of me, they're a part of you. We'll always feel them. But they're dead. And we're here." She gave him her brightest smile. "You said we get to start over. We were both trying. But I'm not trying anymore... I'm doing it. I'm starting over." Carol touched his cheek. She loved how far they had come. There was a time she was terrified to touch him, afraid of how he would react. But now he enjoyed it.

"I might not be able to save the world," Carol said, brushing his cheek with her thumb. "Might be way too late for that. But I have something that I can use to protect my family. Maybe that's why I'm here. Everything happens for a reason, right?" Daryl nodded. "As much as it hurts to lose people they have all taught us something in death and brought us to this point."

Daryl put his hand over top of hers, "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, a warmth spreading through her body and wrapping around her heart. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a condom. "Now, where were we?"

Daryl plucked it from her hand and tossed it across the room. "Ain't gonna be needing those anymore."

"What? Wait..." she started to stand and go after it but Daryl caught her and pulled her into his lap.

"We don't." Daryl kissed her. "Eugene lived. I have your blood too. We're safe. Believe it. Believe me. Believe yourself." Carol smiled and relaxed. He was right. She finally believed it with her whole heart - there was no longer a reason not to. This time when their lips met, there was no stopping. It was the first time they would make love far away from the others, somewhere they were truly alone. 

It wasn't long before their clothes were strewn all over the floor. Carol wanted him so badly it was hard to stop kissing long enough to remove their shirts.

Daryl eased her back onto the couch and kissed his way down her body, teasing her with light nips along the way. She spread her legs as he approached and held her breath, waiting for that first moment of contact. Daryl tortured her, taking his time, nuzzling her thighs with the rough stubble on his cheeks, and breathing warm air over her sensitive skin.

Finally Carol couldn't take it any longer. She grabbed his head and pulled it to her body, arching her back and lifting her hips to just the right angle. She rubbed herself against his face until he finally licked her and from then on she was at his mercy. Carol relaxed and enjoyed the feel of not only what he was doing to her physically, but all the emotions and desire he was eliciting inside of her. Daryl made her feel alive from head to toe. He made her burn, ache, and want to scream, but at the same time he also made her feel more loved than she thought was possible. Somehow this man had come into her awful life, in an awful world and brought her everything she'd ever dreamed of. He wasn't perfect, but neither was she. They complimented one another in every way.

Daryl worked her over thoroughly, bringing her desire to a boil before he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. He held her gaze as he slipped his dick inside her very slowly. Carol gasped and moaned, enjoying the feel of him, all him, absolutely nothing between them. It was like their first time all over again, but with a lot more comfort and confidence… and longevity. The love and trust was always there.

Carol felt dizzy by the time she came. Somehow it was the best time yet. It sounded so damn cliche - but it was the truth. Perhaps it was the location, the fact they didn't use a condom, the experience with each other, or just because her mood had never been so positive, but Carol was certain no other time had been that perfect.

They were still lying tangled in each other, tired and sweaty, several minutes later. Carol sighed, "I have no idea how long we've been gone, but I would rather not get rescued again… naked." She squirmed out from under him. "Let's get dressed and load up that car with a ridiculous amount of supplies."

Daryl snorted, "I don't know if I'll ever get used to Miss Optimistic, but it's cute."

"Yeah, well enjoy it while it lasts. If there aren't boxes and boxes of fruit cocktail out there I might go into a deep depression," she joked.

"I was hoping for Spam or sardines myself," Daryl replied. Carol eyed him, not sure if he was kidding or not. The man ate squirrel even before the apocalypse… Spam was a slight step up. "I'm joking," he added, responding to her blank stare. "But, a can of cherry pie filling and a spoon would be heaven."

"Mmm," Carol groaned. "I miss cherry pie… and blueberry… apple… and cheesecake. I would give anything for a piece of cheesecake."

"Okay stop, I'm starving," Daryl said. "And you're getting my hopes up."

When they finished getting dressed they readied their weapons and headed out into the factory. They eventually found the warehouse and Carol almost started crying. There were skids and skids of canned goods. There would be enough food in there to keep them going for over a year… if only they were staying in the area. They both ran for a skid and sliced open the plastic wrap. "Oh my god… I have peaches," Carol called out.

"This one is all corn," Daryl replied. "I love corn," he sighed dramatically.

They attacked several more skids and found several other kinds of canned veggies, pork and beans, pasta sauce, tuna and pudding. "Carl will love this," Carol laughed, remembering the story Michonne had told him about Carl polishing off an entire tin of chocolate pudding. "Let's load up the car and bring back a big group tomorrow to get more."

They took several boxes, a little of this, little of that, and filled the trunk and entire back seat of the car. Daryl let her carry a couple boxes and then talked her into keeping a lookout for walkers while he finished, worrying about her health as usual. She gave in easily because the second trip had left her feeling a bit woozy.

They raced back to the fire hall, excited to show the others what they had found.

"Look at her," Tara said quietly to Rosita, gazing at Carol from across the room. Carol and Daryl had just returned with a huge haul of food and the news that there was an endless supply. Everyone was excited and smiling. Tara exhaled a long breath, "I want whatever she's got."

"Ha, don't we all," Rosita laughed. "Daryl and the cure." Tara gave her a look. "Oh right, guess the Daryl part doesn't matter much to you."

"It's not that," Tara said thoughtfully. "It's her."

"She's beautiful," Rosita admitted.

"She is. And she's smart, brave, strong... She acts straight from the heart. She's special," Tara said. "But she doesn't like the attention. She has flaws like the rest of us. And she only wants to be what she is."

"What is she?" Rosita asked.

Tara smiled, "That's simple. She's... Human."

~ THE END ~

Thank you so much for reading and supporting me along the way! Love and hugs!


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